Incumbent
Challenger
Blust voted yes on HB 1089. Long fiscal-conservative record. Headen advanced without a primary. Flip-NC and local canvass lists have treated 62 as a target.
Green ✓ = closer to this concern set: levy-limit and reappraisal relief, ICE detainers, school choice, energy costs that do not raise the home bill, tighter election rules, and a caucus vote that does not grow Raleigh.
Red ✗ = farther from that set. Both may earn ✓ on the same row.
| Issue | John Blust (Inc.) | Shelly Headen | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property-tax levy limit (HB 1089) | Cosponsor. Voted yes. Matches his long tax-limit record. | ✓ | Would have voted no along party lines. | ✗ |
| Reappraisal moratorium (SB 889) | Provide state relief when the local tax base explodes, putting taxpayers’ homes at risk. | Keep Guilford revenue intact. | ||
| School choice vs. GCS money | Opportunity Scholarships stay. | Rejects opportunity scholarships. Public-system first. | ||
| Teacher pay (SB 257 — 8% avg, $48k start) | House GOP. Voted the budget that enacted the raise. | Supports the enacted raise. Wants a larger next step. | ||
| Medicaid | Protect through work rules and solvency. | Protect expansion of benefits. | ||
| Crime and ICE detainers | Conservative public-safety vote; local law enforcement honors detainers. | Party line on cooperation, no required local cooperation with federal law enforcement. | ||
| Spending and the House fiscal vote | Returned to Raleigh as a budget hawk. | More state spending for entitlements and services. | ||
| Housing and zoning preemption | Keep towns in charge. Local ‘no’ stays a no. | No published housing plank. Party line: state rules that override a local ban on more units. | ||
| Data centers — jobs vs. the grid and the household bill | No published ordinance. Weigh the jobs against the load; keep the town veto. | No published data-center plank. Same weigh-the-load test; no posted special-use text. | ||
| Election rules | Cosponsor path on election-law bills. Require same photo ID rules for in-person and mail-in voting. | Oppose same photo ID rules for mail-in and in-person voting. | ||
| Experience in the chamber | Prior long tenure plus the 2024 return. | First run for this seat. | ||
| Who they caucus with | House GOP. One vote toward a veto-proof majority. | House Democrats. One vote against it. |
Property-tax levy limit (HB 1089)
Cosponsor. Voted yes. Matches his long tax-limit record.
Would have voted no along party lines.
Reappraisal moratorium (SB 889)
Provide state relief when the local tax base explodes, putting taxpayers’ homes at risk.
Keep Guilford revenue intact.
School choice vs. GCS money
Opportunity Scholarships stay.
Rejects opportunity scholarships. Public-system first.
Teacher pay (SB 257 — 8% avg, $48k start)
House GOP. Voted the budget that enacted the raise.
Supports the enacted raise. Wants a larger next step.
Medicaid
Protect through work rules and solvency.
Protect expansion of benefits.
Crime and ICE detainers
Conservative public-safety vote; local law enforcement honors detainers.
Party line on cooperation, no required local cooperation with federal law enforcement.
Spending and the House fiscal vote
Returned to Raleigh as a budget hawk.
More state spending for entitlements and services.
Housing and zoning preemption
Keep towns in charge. Local ‘no’ stays a no.
No published housing plank. Party line: state rules that override a local ban on more units.
Data centers — jobs vs. the grid and the household bill
No published ordinance. Weigh the jobs against the load; keep the town veto.
No published data-center plank. Same weigh-the-load test; no posted special-use text.
Election rules
Cosponsor path on election-law bills. Require same photo ID rules for in-person and mail-in voting.
Oppose same photo ID rules for mail-in and in-person voting.
Experience in the chamber
Prior long tenure plus the 2024 return.
First run for this seat.
Who they caucus with
House GOP. One vote toward a veto-proof majority.
House Democrats. One vote against it.
Matches the Piedmont concern set
John Blust · 11 of 11
Shelly Headen · 2 of 11
If these are your District 62 priorities
District 62 is a Guilford seat with a recorded yes on the levy-limit amendment and a member who has spent years as a House fiscal conservative.
Blust’s case is the roll call plus the caucus. Headen’s case is GCS money and a Democratic target list. Both pass the data-center load test and both support the enacted teacher-pay raise. On HB 1089, spending, detainers, and election rules — Blust is the closer fit.
- Sources (public record)
- NCGA / billsponsor.com on Blust (HB 1089 yes) · Ballotpedia HD-62 · Our Piedmont brief
Our Piedmont Education Foundation · 301 S Elm Street, Suite 605, Greensboro, NC 27401. This page is voter education. It is not an endorsement of, or opposition to, either candidate. Draft for internal review · August 28, 2026.