Deborah Armfield "Deb" Butler is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

, where she has served since 2017. She represents the 18th House District, covering a portion of New Hanover County, as a member of the Democratic Party.

North Carolina General Assembly

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Butler unsuccessfully challenged Republican Thom Goolsby for a seat in the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

, losing by an 8 point margin. Butler was appointed to the

in 2017 to succeed Susi Hamilton, after Hamilton was appointed to head the

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is a cabinet-level department within the state government of North Carolina dedicated to overseeing projects in the arts, culture, and history within the borders of the state. The cur ...

by Governor

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III ( ; born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 75th List of governors of North Carolina, governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

."New NC House member is second openly LGBT legislator"
''

The News & Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the '' Charlotte Observer''). The paper has be ...

'', February 2, 2017. She has been re-elected to the seat twice, most recently in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Personal life

Butler identifies as

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

. She is one of four openly LGBT officeholders currently serving in the North Carolina state legislature, alongside caucus colleagues Marcia Morey, Allison Dahle and Cecil Brockman. Butler works as a lawyer in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

. She married Anni Parra in 2015.

Electoral history

2024

2022

2020

2018

2012

Committee assignments

2021–2022 Session

*Banking *Commerce *Finance *Judiciary III *Transportation

2019–2020 Session

*Banking *Commerce *Finance *Transportation *Redistricting

2017–2018 Session

*Aging *Finance *Judiciary IV *State and Local Government I *State Personnel

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Deb Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Wilmington, North Carolina University of Tennessee alumni Wake Forest University alumni Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives LGBTQ state legislators in North Carolina Women state legislators in North Carolina American lesbian politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly