Buck Newton

Buck Newton
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2023
Preceded byToby Fitch
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 11th district
In office
January 5, 2011 – January 11, 2017
Preceded byA. B. Swindell
Succeeded byRick Horner
Personal details
BornEldon Sharpe Newton III
(1968-07-05) July 5, 1968 (age 58)
Wilson, North Carolina, U.S.
PartyRepublican
SpouseHope
Children3
EducationAppalachian State University (BS)
Campbell University (JD)
OccupationAttorney

Eldon Sharpe "Buck" Newton III (born July 5, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who serves as a Republican state senator in the North Carolina General Assembly (the state's legislature) representing N.C. Senate District 4 (Wilson, Greene, and Wayne counties). Newton originally won a seat in the North Carolina Senate in the 2010 election by defeating the Democratic incumbent, Albin B. Swindell.

In 2016, Newton was the Republican nominee for North Carolina Attorney General, losing to Democrat Josh Stein by 25,000 votes, a 0.5% margin.

In 2022, Newton won a seat in North Carolina Senate District 4, defeating incumbent Democrat Toby Fitch by a 16 point margin.

Early life and education

A native of Wilson, North Carolina, Newton graduated from Hunt High School. He received his bachelor's degree in political science from Appalachian State University. After college, Newton was an aide to Senator Jesse Helms on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Newton is a graduate of the Campbell University School of Law. He has practiced law for 16 years at his firm, Newton and Lee, in Wilson.

State office

Newton defeated A. B. Swindell, a five-term incumbent, in 2010. He has chaired judiciary committees since his first term. In the 2025–2026 session he chairs the Senate committees on the Judiciary, Finance, and Appropriations on Justice and Public Safety, and sits on the committees on Agriculture, Energy and Environment; Education/Higher Education; and Transportation.

From 2007-2011, Newton served as the chairman for the Wilson County Republican Party before taking office in the state capital in early 2011, replacing State Senator Albin B. Swindell.

In response to the state's law on LGBT issues Newton, at a conservative rally supporting North Carolina's House Bill 2 (a.k.a. "HB2"), said “Go home, tell your friends and family who had to work today what this is all about and how hard we must fight to keep our state straight.” In a later interview, Newton said his remarks at the rally were intended to mean “keep men out of the ladies’ room.” Newton has also said that "folks that wave the rainbow flags” need to get used to “the way things have always been in this state.”

In 2015 Newton supported a bill allowing magistrates and county employees to opt out of performing same-sex marriages, which passed the legislature and was vetoed by Governor Pat McCrory. He was also a principal sponsor of legislation that moved oversight of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation out of the Attorney General's office into an independent agency whose director is appointed by the governor.

Newton ran as the Republican candidate for the North Carolina Attorney General election in 2016, but lost to Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee.

He was elected to the State Senate again in 2022, defeating incumbent Senator Toby Fitch.

In 2024, Newton sponsored the Senate committee substitute for House Bill 237, the Unmasking Mobs and Criminals Act, which would have repealed a pandemic-era exemption permitting masks to be worn in public for health reasons. Newton said the measure restored the law to its form before the COVID-19 pandemic and would criminalise masks only when worn to conceal identity, while opponents argued it would expose immunocompromised people to prosecution; legislative staff advised a Senate committee that masking for health purposes would violate the bill as drafted. It passed the Senate 30–15 on party lines in May 2024. The House declined to concur, and a conference committee restored an exemption for health reasons. As enacted, the law exempts a person wearing a medical or surgical grade mask to prevent the spread of contagious disease, a narrower exemption than the one it replaced, and requires its removal on request by a law enforcement officer. Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the bill, and it became law over his objections on June 27, 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "North Carolina Senators: 2023-2024 Session". ncleg.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  2. ↑ Cooper, Geoffrey (November 3, 2010). "Newton ousts longtime legislator Swindell". Rocky Mount Telegram. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  3. ↑ "2011–2012 Report for Sen. E. S. (Buck) Newton". North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research. Archived from the original on 2013-07-22.
  4. ↑ Campbell, Colin (June 1, 2015). "NC Sen. Buck Newton launches run for attorney general". The News & Observer. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ "North Carolina Election Results". The New York Times. 8 November 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Meet Buck Newton". Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  7. ↑ Clifton, Brant (May 31, 2015). "Buck Newton: Our next AG?". The Daily Haymaker. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  8. ↑ Johnson, Joe (March 1, 2016). "Legislator Faces Prosecutor in GOP Attorney General Primary". Carolina Journal. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Binker, Mark; Basiouny, Angie (May 31, 2015). "State Sen. Buck Newton to run for attorney general". WRAL. Retrieved October 29, 2026.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Joe (March 1, 2016). "Legislator Faces Prosecutor in GOP Attorney General Primary". Carolina Journal. Retrieved October 29, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Senator Buck Newton (Rep): Committees". General Assembly of North Carolina. Retrieved October 29, 2026.
  12. ↑ Binker, Mark (June 1, 2015). "State Sen. Buck Newton to run for attorney general". WRAL. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  13. ↑ Binker, Mark (April 26, 2016). "Newton says Dems 'a little sensitive' in reaction to HB2 comment". WRAL. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  14. ↑ Terkel, Amanda (April 26, 2016). "North Carolina Republican Urges People To 'Keep Our State Straight'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  15. ↑ Bonner, Lynn (April 26, 2016). "GOP candidate criticized for 'keep our state straight' rally comment explains". The News & Observer. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  16. ↑ Tesfaye, Sophia (26 April 2016). "North Carolina Republican rallies support for anti-transgender bathroom ban: "Keep our state straight"". Salon. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  17. ↑ Campbell, Colin (June 1, 2015). "NC Sen. Buck Newton launches run for attorney general". The News & Observer. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Our Campaigns - NC State Senate 04 Race - Nov 08, 2022".
  19. 1 2 3 "Bill to ban most public mask wearing, including for health reasons, advances in North Carolina". CBS News. Associated Press. May 17, 2024. Retrieved October 29, 2026.
  20. ↑ Coffey, Sean (June 12, 2024). "North Carolina's updated mask bill passes House of Representatives 69-43". WTVD. Retrieved October 29, 2026.
  21. 1 2 "Session Law 2024-16 (House Bill 237)" (PDF). General Assembly of North Carolina. June 27, 2024. Retrieved October 29, 2026.