Charles Smith

Charles Smith was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Smith earned a bachelor's degree from Emory and Henry College in 2014 and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017.[1] His career experience includes working as the Cumberland County assistant district attorney and then as an attorney in private practice.[2]

Charles Smith has not yet completed [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Send a message to Charles Smith asking him to fill out the survey.

If you are Charles Smith, click here to fill out [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out the candidate survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete [the profile publisher]'s Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's [the profile publisher] profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 32,000 candidates have taken [the profile publisher]'s candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Charles Smith to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing campaignmanager@charlessmithfornc.com.

Charles Smith did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Born and raised in Cumberland County, I have a strong appreciation for our community and longstanding desire to serve the area. My formative years were spent in Fayetteville, NC; after which I attended Emory and Henry College to fulfill a childhood dream of playing college basketball. After undergrad, I returned to my home state and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for law school. Immediately after earning my law degree, I returned to Cumberland County to serve as an Assistant District Attorney. After years in the District Attorney's Office, I transitioned into private practice with The Charleston Group, in Fayetteville. While working for The Charleston Group, I have gained experience representing a variety of government entities, as well as experience in administrative law, corporate law, and general civil litigation. Upon returning to Cumberland County, I was also lucky enough to meet my wife, Mary Kelly, a Fayetteville native and a passionate public servant. She and I choose to live in Fayetteville and will continue to pursue our careers and raise our family in this area. If given the opportunity to serve, I will work tirelessly and transparently to ensure that our community continues to progress.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Integrity: My thoughts and actions will be driven by honesty. In District 43 or in Raleigh, I will do the decent thing. What is right is more important than who is right.Accountability: I invite voters to hold me accountable to their expectations, as I do the same for the other legislators, organizations, and forces that impact their daily lives. With improvement in technology, accessing representatives is easier than ever. I will maintain and encourage communication with the community.Transparency: I will keep voters informed of issues before the General Assembly and seek to listen and understand before acting. I will communicate issues at hand in a way that all can understand and feel connected. No law degree is needed to be an active and informed citizen.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

(1) Healthcare: Every North Carolinian deserves access to affordable and quality healthcare. Even after the passage of the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), there are hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians that cannot afford private health insurance, but also remain ineligible for Medicaid (the "coverage gap"). As such, North Carolina hospitals and emergency rooms are overcrowded and frequently required to provide significant amounts of uncompensated care each to individuals in this coverage gap.

(2) Red Flag Laws: With recent increases in gun violence across the nation, I would strongly endorse the adoption of "red flag" laws in North Carolina. Such laws would allow for courts to temporarily block access to firearms for individuals deemed mentally unfit following a petition from family members or other persons. Red Flag laws would be temporary and subject to judicial review to ensure necessity. The procedure would be very similar to the involuntary commitment process, which also begins with a petition filed by a family member or medical professional and is subject to judicial review.

(3) Public Education: We must identify and provide necessary resources to ensure that all children, specifically children of historically marginalized populations, and those in rural or impoverished areas, have access to free, appropriate, and equitable education.