Buck Newton

Who is Buck Newton?

Eldon Sharpe Newton III is a Republican Senator in the North Carolina General Assembly representing District 11. Newton won his seat in the 2010 election, defeating Democrat incumbent A.B. Swindell. A native of Wilson, NC, Newton graduated from Hunt High School before attending Appalachian State University where he received his bachelor's degree in Political Science. After college, Buck served as an aide to Senator Jesse Helms on the Foreign Relations Committee in the U.S. Senate.

Since graduating from Campbell University School of Law, Buck has practiced law at his firm, Newton and Lee, in Wilson. He is an active member of First United Methodist Church and has served the community in a number of ways. Recently, he has sought to pass a bill that would change North Carolina law and prevent citizens with felonious records from voting for five years after release and/or probation. Although many of those affected by such laws have been in the past, and would be again after passage, African American, Newton claims not to be motivated by racism. From 2007 to 2011, Newton served as the chairman for the Wilson County Republican Party before taking office in early 2011.