Wesley Ryan Harris (born September 22, 1986) is an American economist and politician who served 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 ...

representing the 105th district from 2019 to 2025. He was the Democratic nominee for

state treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

in the 2024 election.

Early life and education

Born in

Taylorsville, North Carolina Taylorsville is a town in Alexander County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,098 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Taylorsville is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical ...

, Harris received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in economics from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. He later attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

earning a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in economics.

Political career

Harris won his first election on November 6, 2018, securing 52 percent of the vote over incumbent Republican Scott Stone, secured 48 percent. He has been twice re-elected, defeating Republican challengers Amy Bynum in 2020 and Joshua Niday in 2022. On March 13, 2023, Harris announced a run for

North Carolina State Treasurer The North Carolina State Treasurer is a statewide elected office in the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina responsible for overseeing the financial operations of state government. The current state treasurer is Brad Briner. The office o ...

. He earned the Democratic nomination on March 5, 2024 with 66.59% of the vote. He lost to Republican

Brad Briner Bradford B. Briner (born 1976/1977) is an American politician from North Carolina. He is the North Carolina State Treasurer. He is a Republican Party (United States), Republican. Briner was born in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from the University ...

Committee assignments

;2023–24 session *Agriculture *Finance *Judiciary 3 *Marine Resources and Aquaculture *Transportation ;2021–22 session *Education - Universities *Finance *Judiciary III *Marine Resources and Aquaculture *Transportation ;2019–20 session *Finance *Judiciary *Transportation *Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee

Personal life

Harris lives in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

Electoral history

2024

2022

2020

2018

References

External links

Representative Wesley Harris
legislative website
Wesley Harris for State Treasurer
campaign website 1986 births Clemson University alumni Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Living people People from Taylorsville, North Carolina Politicians from Charlotte, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Candidates in the 2024 United States elections 21st-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub