Tag: harnett county

To help voters learn which candidates are on their ballot and where they stand on important policy issues, The News & Observer is publishing candidate questionnaires in all state and federal races in North Carolina on the March 3, 2026, ballot.

Below are the candidates running for NC House District 6 who responded to our questionnaire, in order by the date their responses were received. Some candidates did not provide a photo.

District 6 is located in Harnett County and is currently represented by Rep. Joe Pike, a Republican seeking reelection. W. H. “Bill” Morris is challenging Pike for the Republican nomination.

There is also a Democratic primary for the seat between Joshua Estep and Tony Spears.

Spears, Pike and Morris did not respond to the questionnaire.

Joshua Estep

Age as of March 3, 2026: 36

Political party: Democratic

Campaign website: joshuaestepfornc.com

Current occupation: Preconstruction and masonry field operations manager for Mante Structural.

Professional experience: 10 years in construction, mostly masonry; 13 years in food service industry with highest position held being kitchen manager.

Education: Associates’ degree in construction management as well as a carpentry certificate from Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington.

Please list any notable government or civic involvement: Election worker in 2020

What is the most important issue in your district and what do you want to do about it? Public school funding. The public schools in my district are full of great teachers. They’re underpaid and need more support from the state while providing our children with an education. I’d call to get a raise for teachers in the state budget that aptly reflects their importance to all North Carolinians but especially our children. Secondly I’d work to get the voucher program wealth cap reduced drastically so that we help the kids who need it the most and give more back to public schools.

The legislature sets teacher base pay. What do you think the salary range should be for teachers, from starting to 30+ experience? Starting with the required degree: $55,000 to $100,000+ with benefits and pension

As of January, North Carolina was the last state not to have passed a new, comprehensive budget. What would you do to help make sure a budget passes? I’d help to introduce measures in the budget that both sides can agree on. That will be a difficult task, but we all know what’s important to our districts. With that knowledge we pass common sense budget measures that most of our constituents would agree with. Also it should be more out in the open to maintain transparency at all times.

North Carolina’s income tax rate for individual taxpayers is 3.99%. Should that be reduced further? I think that should be dependent on income. There should be more well structured brackets with lower rates being paid from working and middle class North Carolinians. After a certain dollar amount (i.e. $5 million) the rate should increase for every dollar over that threshold.

Do you think the state is using taxpayer money efficiently? Why or why not? Yes, but only partially because there are a lot of aspects of their stewardship that need to be changed to help the working class. Things like insanely large tax incentives for big corporations and an uncapped school voucher program only benefit a small group of the wealthiest North Carolinians. That needs to change. We also need to expand Medicare and work to make health care more affordable for all North Carolinians.

Do you support legalizing medical marijuana use? Why or why not? Yes. When it’s properly regulated like alcohol and tobacco, it’s relatively “safe” in moderation. It should be taxed as it is in other states which will bring in a decent amount of income for the state while simultaneously benefiting farmers as a cash crop. The hemp industry in North Carolina is doing fairly well, however, provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will restrict hemp farming immensely starting in November of 2026 and legalization statewide could help keep those farms and producers in business.

What do you see as the biggest barrier to health care access in your district, and what actions would you take to address it? My district is fairly rural, so most folks have to drive to either Raleigh or Fayetteville for their health care. We need to further expand our Medicaid and Medicare to help bring more doctors and hospitals to our quickly growing rural areas. The funds from both the state and federal government could be used to incentivize doctors and other health care providers to start new practices in our growing part of the state. We also need to expand the small business health plans program.