A Wilson barber running for office for the first time has knocked off a longtime eastern North Carolina lawmaker. Jess Rivera defeated Republican incumbent Buck Newton in North Carolina Senate District 4, earning 37,539 votes to Newton's 35,962, winning a seat Newton had represented since 2022.
Rivera, a political newcomer who lives in Wilson and cuts hair for a living, won Wilson County outright, while Newton carried Wayne County, though Wilson County is his home county, according to The Wilson Times. The paper reported that Wilson County's vote count was not finalized until just before midnight on election night, leaving the outcome uncertain for hours. A separate tally from NC Newsline had Rivera leading Newton 51.07% to 48.93% with all precincts reporting. As with all election-night results, the returns remain unofficial until county boards of election certify them.
A Close Finish in Newton's Backyard
The margin in Wayne County reveals just how much ground Newton lost. Rivera trailed him there by only 1,321 votes, a steep drop from 2024, when Newton won Wayne County by 8,619 votes, the Wilson Times reported. That erosion in a county Newton has long relied on appears to have been decisive in the overall result.
Newton has been a member of the Legislature since 2010 and represented Wilson County in Senate District 4 since 2022, making him a fixture of eastern North Carolina politics for 16 years. He was in his fifth term and co-chaired the Senate Finance and Judiciary committees, according to NC Newsline. Earlier in the campaign, per WRAL, Newton was promoted alongside Sens. Lisa Barnes and Michael Lee as a sponsor of legislation suspending the state gas tax.
From Camp Lejeune to the Campaign Trail
Rivera's path to the state Senate started far from North Carolina. Born in California, she said she was drawn to the eastern part of the state after being stationed at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, the Wilson Times reported. She served in the Marine Corps for eight years, telling the paper, “I joined the Marine Corps at 17. I was in for eight years. I went to Iraq twice — once in 2005, another in 2007.”
Rivera said she planned to bring a different perspective and creative ideas to persistent issues and to listen to every voter in the district. Following her win, Rivera said she felt grateful and was looking forward to a call from Newton.
Part of a Broader Shift in Raleigh
Rivera's victory did not happen in isolation. NC Newsline reported that Democrats appeared to win a majority in the North Carolina House, which would mark the first time the party controlled a General Assembly chamber since 2010, while also ending Republicans' veto-proof majority in the state Senate. Heading into the election, Republicans had held 30 of the Senate's 50 seats, according to WRAL.
Political analysts cited by WRAL said this year's elections gave Democrats their best chance at gaining influence in the Legislature in years. Senate District 4 covers Greene, Wayne and Wilson counties.
