Deborah Ross (NC-2)

Biography

Deborah Ross is a Democratic U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District, which includes most of Wake County and the capital city of Raleigh. She has served in this role since 2021, currently in her third term as of 2025, and previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2003 to 2013. Notable achievements include serving as Chief Deputy Whip on the House Democrats’ leadership team, membership on the House Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology, and having 13 pieces of her legislation signed into law, addressing issues like sexual assault nurse examiners, child sexual abuse accountability, judicial ethics, and offshore wind energy. She is recognized as a civil rights advocate and clean energy champion, with prior work passing North Carolina's first anti-racial profiling law and advancing renewable energy jobs.

Education

Ross graduated from law school at the *University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill *.

Political Experience

• Civil rights lawyer before politics: Helped enact the South’s first anti-racial profiling law and juvenile justice reforms; later in private practice, advanced clean energy initiatives creating thousands of jobs.
• *North Carolina House of Representatives *: Represented Wake County; served as Democratic Whip; championed voting rights, affordable housing, transit funding, healthcare expansion, and coastal protection against sea level rise; named one of Wake County's most effective legislators for bipartisan work.
• 2016 U.S. Senate campaign: Unsuccessful run.
• *U.S. House *: Elected in 2020 after redistricting; focuses on women’s health, immigration reform, clean energy; secured federal funding for affordable housing, public safety, and water systems in Wake County.