Paul Robert Newton (born June 2, 1960) is an American politician and Republican member of the North Carolina State Senate, formerly representing the 36th district.[1][2]
Paul Newton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Majority Leader of the North Carolina Senate | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2023 | |
| Leader | Phil Berger |
| Preceded by | Kathy Harrington |
| Member of the North Carolina Senate | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Fletcher L. Hartsell Jr. |
| Constituency | 36th district (2017–2023) 34th district (2023–present) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul Robert Newton June 2, 1960 North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Melanie |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BS, JD) |
Political career
editIn April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in North Carolina, Newton was one of five Republican state senators asked Governor Roy Cooper to allow the Coca-Cola 600, a NASCAR race, to be run at Charlotte Motor Speedway, although without a crowd of fans.[3] The following year, Newton sponsored a "liability shield" bill to provide a limited form of immunity to businesses, government agency or nonprofit against lawsuits arising from COVID-19 transmission on their premises.[4]
In 2021, amid nationwide Republican efforts to Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election, Newton proposed legislation that would prevent counties from counting valid mail-in absentee ballots postmarked before or on election day unless they were received by the polling places by 5 p.m. on election day. Newton argued that it was "suspicious" for valid absentee ballots to be counted after election day.[5] In the 2020 elections, 11,000 ballots arrived in the three-day grace period after election day and were counted; under Newton's proposal, they would have been thrown out.[5]
Newton, a retired Duke Energy executive and member of the state Senate's energy committee, opposed natural gas production limitations in North Carolina.[6][7]
In 2021, as co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Newton sponsored a proposal to reduce the state income tax rate from 5.25% to 4.99%.[8]
In November 2022, Newton was elected by his colleagues to become Senate Majority Leader for the 2023–2024 session.[9]
Electoral history
edit2022
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Paul Newton (incumbent) | 40,991 | 56.90% | |
| Democratic | Keshia Sandidge | 31,044 | 43.10% | |
| Total votes | 72,035 | 100% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2020
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Paul Newton (incumbent) | 69,932 | 57.71% | |
| Democratic | Marcus J. Singleton | 51,249 | 42.29% | |
| Total votes | 121,181 | 100% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2018
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Paul Newton (incumbent) | 44,938 | 56.63% | |
| Democratic | Mark E. Shelley | 34,416 | 43.37% | |
| Total votes | 79,354 | 100% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2016
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Paul Newton | 9,562 | 37.04% | |
| Republican | Scott C. Aumuller | 7,749 | 30.02% | |
| Republican | Amy Blake | 5,509 | 21.34% | |
| Republican | Parish Moffitt | 2,994 | 11.60% | |
| Total votes | 25,814 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Paul Newton | 59,584 | 62.56% | |
| Democratic | Robert Brown | 35,664 | 37.44% | |
| Total votes | 95,248 | 100% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
References
edit- ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart.
- ^ "Meet the candidates: NC Senate District 36 Paul Newton". The Independent Tribune.
- ^ GOP senators ask NC governor to allow racing at Charlotte, Associated Press (April 19, 2020).
- ^ Gary D. Robertson, N.C. lawmakers push reopen bills, virus liability protection, Associated Press (June 16, 2020).
- ^ a b "'Obstacles in voters' way': Three state bills could drastically change North Carolina's election laws". The Chronicle. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ Gary D. Robertson, Experts: 1 pipeline each for NC natural gas, fuel a concern, Associated Press (May 18, 2021).
- ^ Gary D. Robertson, NC Senate nixes environment chief, but Cooper rehires her, Associated Press (June 3, 2021).
- ^ Gary D. Robertson, NC Senate Republicans to pitch more state tax reductions, Associated Press (March 22, 2021).
- ^ "Sen. Paul Newton elected N.C. Senate majority leader; Sen. Blue to serve as Democratic leader". Gray Television, Inc. November 29, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ [1] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ [2] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ [3] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ [4] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ [5] North Carolina State Board of Elections.