Raymond Smith Jr.

Raymond Smith Jr. is a former football coach and a father of five, three sons and two daughters, with his wife, Cortrina.¹ He grew up in Goldsboro, where his mother, Thelma, was an educator and school board member, and his father, a Marine veteran, worked at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.²

Smith served in the Army and Army Reserve as a military policeman and is a Gulf War combat veteran.¹ His education includes a supply chain management degree from North Carolina A&T, a master's in public administration from North Carolina Central and an educational leadership doctorate from Fayetteville State.¹

His civilian work included moving county paratransit operations from private to public management and becoming a statewide transportation planner at the North Carolina Department of Transportation.¹ He won an at large Wayne County school board seat in 2016 and later became its vice chair.² He served two terms in the state House beginning in 2019, becoming a minority whip and a member of the Legislative Black Caucus executive committee.²

Smith emphasizes household costs and favors eliminating President Trump's tariffs, arguing that they make everyday purchases more expensive.² He supports fully funding the Affordable Care Act while addressing problems in its implementation.² He faces Republican incumbent Greg Murphy.³