Signs declaring “Winn Decker for trans rights” have popped up, and nobody involved in North Carolina’s most closely watched House race is taking credit for them. Decker, the Democrat challenging Republican incumbent Erin Paré in House District 37, says his campaign never made them and doesn’t know who did. The Wake County Republican Party, which posted an image of the signs online, says it doesn’t know either.
A Sign Nobody Will Own
A photo shared by the Wake County Republican Party showed the trans-rights signs beside what appears to be a Decker campaign sign reading “Winn Decker for NC House,” with rainbow-colored LGBTQ+ flags nearby, according to The News & Observer. The newspaper reported that the party’s post also questioned Decker’s positions on transgender rights and claimed he moved to southern Wake County to run against Paré.
In an email, Decker campaign manager Lindsay Mahaffey said the campaign neither made nor authorized the signs and did not know who placed them. She said the campaign’s approved sign reads “Winn Decker for NC House” and that its other yard displays have been U.S. and North Carolina flags. Wake County Republican Party public relations chair Laura Macklem also said the party did not know who put up the signs, while speculating that Decker’s campaign or a supporter might have.
Campaign Points Finger Back At Paré
Mahaffey rejected the suggestion that Decker’s campaign was behind the signs and turned the question toward Paré, citing her role in legislation authorizing automatic license plate reader surveillance on state-owned property. The provision, which allows agreements between the Department of Transportation and the State Bureau of Investigation, was included in the latest state budget. Paré helped craft that budget as a House Appropriations Committee co-chair.
Paré told the newspaper by email that Decker had changed positions on important issues and called his campaign unserious. She also said he was chasing “men in women’s sports”; the newspaper reported finding no mention of that topic in Decker’s campaign materials or social media. Paré has separately said she is focused on improving schools, lowering costs, and securing road and water funding, and has urged her Facebook followers to reject extremism.
Who's Who In District 37
Decker is a 33-year-old education policy strategist living in Fuquay-Varina who is making his first run for public office. He previously worked as a senior policy analyst and deputy higher education director at the Hunt Institute, a nonprofit education think tank in Cary, according to Decker’s campaign website. Indy Week describes him as an education policy strategist and says he currently works for Common App. Decker won just over 50% of the vote in a three-way Democratic primary, per Indy Week’s reporting.
Mahaffey said the campaign’s focus has been on lowering costs, strengthening schools, and meeting infrastructure needs, and that volunteers have knocked more than 30,000 doors. Paré, a Republican state representative from Holly Springs, has held the seat since 2021.
A True Toss-Up With An Unusual Electorate
Both parties have reason to treat this contest as a marquee race. The Civitas Partisan Index classifies District 37 as R+0, a true toss-up, Indy Week reported, and the North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation has also labeled the district a toss-up. Carolina Public Press reported that election analysts consider the 2026 race a tie, noting the district covers Fuquay-Varina and most of Holly Springs — two former Republican strongholds that have turned bluer as they’ve grown.
The district’s voter rolls help explain the uncertainty: 45% of registered voters are unaffiliated, compared with 30% Republican and 24% Democratic, according to Carolina Public Press. Money has flowed unevenly so far, with Paré reporting about $206,000 raised this cycle and roughly $199,000 cash on hand, compared with Decker’s reported $48,000 raised and about $27,000 on hand, per Indy Week’s review of campaign finance figures.
How to Read the District’s Numbers
The figures cited above do not establish how results, turnout, population or registration changed over the last three general elections. The North Carolina State Board of Elections says redistricting accounts for population shifts, so comparisons across cycles should take the maps in force at the time into account. The board also cautions that historical registration statistics count registered voters, who did not necessarily cast a ballot; the district’s 45% unaffiliated registration share is not a turnout figure, according to its voter-registration data guidance.
What's At Stake Statewide
Decker has named affordability, public education, and what he calls responsible budgeting and governance as his top priorities heading into the next General Assembly, according to Indy Week. His campaign site also lists support for public schools and raising teacher pay among its stated goals.
The outcome in District 37 carries weight beyond Wake County. Depending on how the race and others like it break, Democrats could cut into the Republican near-supermajority in the legislature, or Republicans could expand their hold on a majority. North Carolina voters head to the polls statewide for local, state, and federal races on November 3, with early voting that began Thursday, October 15, also offering same-day voter registration.
No Resolution On Who Made The Signs
As of now, the question of who produced and placed the trans-rights signs remains unanswered. Neither the Wake County Republican Party nor the Decker campaign has claimed responsibility, and whether North Carolina’s campaign-advertisement disclaimer law — which requires a visual legend reading either “Authorized by [name of candidate], candidate for [name of office]” or “Not authorized by a candidate” under North Carolina General Assembly statute — applies to these particular signs has not been established. A separate state statute, also from the North Carolina General Assembly, defines a political sign broadly as one that advocates for political action. The dispute adds one more flashpoint to a race both sides already consider too close to call.
