Paul Lowe Scorecard | Our Piedmont Education Foundation

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Paul A. Lowe, Jr.

Democrat · North Carolina Senate · District 32

Forsyth County (Winston-Salem area)

Our Piedmont Score

–1 / 9

Cool-to-mid gauge

CoolHot

Responsiveness Score to Piedmont Concerns

Demographic & Background

Residence: Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, NC

Occupation: Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church (Winston-Salem) since 1991

Prior Public Service:

North Carolina Senate, District 32 (appointed January 2015; currently serving sixth term)
Former Chair, North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus

Family: Married to LaGail Crews (retired Air Force Master Sergeant)

Other: Bishop College (BA Religion), Virginia Union University (MDiv), Drew University (DMin); Alpha Phi Alpha; 33rd-degree Mason.

Voting Record on Key Issues (2025–2026 Session)

Affordability / housing / tax items (first three rows) are weighted double. See footnotes.

Bill / Issue	Vote	Weight	Notes
SB 889 – Property Tax Reappraisal Moratorium	Voted For (Aye)	+2	One of the few Democrats to vote Aye on the tax freeze (Senate 3rd Reading)
HB 162 – Parking Lot Reform / Stormwater Control Act	Voted For	+2	Near-unanimous bipartisan support
SB 445 – Regulatory Reform Act of 2026 (ADU + commercial redevelopment)	Opposed	–2	Opposed the regulatory-reform package (see footnote on status)
HB 87 – Educational Choice for Children Act	Voted Against	–1	Opposed school-choice tax-credit expansion (veto override)
SB 153 – North Carolina Border Protection Act (287(g))	Voted Against	–1	Opposed mandatory 287(g) and related measures (veto override)
DEI Prohibition bills (HB 171 / SB 227 / SB 558)	Voted Against	–1	Opposed bans on DEI promotion

Footnotes

1. Weighting: The three affordability / housing / tax items (SB 889, HB 162, SB 445) are weighted twice as heavily as the other issues to reflect the project’s priority on property-tax affordability and housing supply in the Piedmont.

2. SB 445 status: As of this writing (July 2026) SB 445 remains in conference committee after the House passed an amended version and the Senate declined to concur. Scoring reflects the legislator’s clear position relative to the regulatory-reform package that contained the ADU and commercial-redevelopment provisions.

3. Key absences: An excused absence or non-vote on a double-weighted (affordability) bill carries a light penalty of –1 instead of zero.

4. Party gravity: No votes by this legislator broke party gravity on the tracked bills. Positions followed typical Democratic caucus patterns; the parking-reform vote was bipartisan.

Sources: NC General Assembly roll-call records, bill trackers, official biography. Official photo: NC General Assembly.

Scorecards are not endorsements. Our Piedmont Education Foundation is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) and does not endorse or oppose any candidate or political party.