Gillespie continues dominance in House District 120
Rep. Karl Gillespie, North Carolina’s westernmost state representative, has at least two more years of that long drive to Raleigh.
Cory Vaillancourt photo
Over the past four years, Macon County native and second-term House Rep. Karl Gillespie has represented one of the most heavily Republican areas in the state. He’ll continue for at least two more, after voters handed him an easy election victory Tuesday night.
Responsible for Cherokee, Clay, Graham and Macon counties — the westernmost in North Carolina — Gillespie topped his Democratic opponent, former Andrews Mayor Nancy Curtis, by more than 50 percentage points, with 75.17% of the vote.
In 2022, Gillespie was unopposed and came away with 30,037 votes. In 2020, Gillespie’s first House contest, he earned 34,933 votes (74.19%), besting Democrat Susan Landis by 22,778 votes.
Nonpartisan mapping website davesredistricting.org measured Republican performance in the district from 2016 to 2022 at 71.9%.
In just a short time, Gillespie has become a rising star among the state’s Republicans, serving as House majority whip, co-chair of the agriculture appropriations committee and co-chair of the environmental committee.
All results are considered unofficial until the State Board of Elections certify the results on Nov. 26.
