Erica Danette Smith is an American engineer and politician who represents District Three in the North Carolina Senate. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2020. She finished second in the Democratic primaries on March 3, 2020.
Early life and education
Born at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina to Retired USAF Msgt Alonza Smith and Rebecca Smith, Erica grew up on the family farm in Gaston, North Carolina along with her four sisters and one brother. Smith is a 1988 graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, a residential high school in Durham, North Carolina for academically gifted students. Smith earned her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University, where she was a Chancellor's Scholar, Boeing Scholar, member of Pi Tau Sigma mechanical engineering honor fraternity, Tau Beta Sigma honorary band sorority, initiated in the Alpha Mu chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, and Trombone Section Leader, chaplain, for the Blue and Gold University Marching Band. In 1992, Erica was elected as the third woman to serve as Student Government Association President in the University's then 100-year history. She was also captain of the NCATSU Honda Allstar Campus Quiz Bowl Team. In May 2000, Erica graduated with highest honors among Master of Arts in Religious Studies candidates from Howard University. Smith began her career as a student engineer at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, and worked her way from Student Engineer to Senior Specialist Engineer in the Defense and Space Division of the Boeing Co. Prior to her retirement from the engineering field, she also served as a patent examiner in the Chemical Engineering Technology Center of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Political career
North Carolina Senate
A Democrat who was first elected to the North Carolina Senate in 2014, Smith has represented Senate District Three since 2015. Senate District Three includes Beaufort, Bertie, Martin, Northampton, Vance, and Warren Counties. Smith was re-elected without opposition in 2016 and defeated Republican Chuck Early in 2018. Smith has co-chaired the Joint Legislative Women's Caucus, served as Chair and Second Vice-Chair of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus, and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Tech Caucus, Democratic Women's Caucus, Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus Rural Working Group and the NCLBC Agriculture Working Group. Smith served for six years on the Northampton County Board of Education 2008-2014 and in grassroots organizing and community leadership as Democratic Party Chair and First Vice-Chair for Northampton County from 2001–2015.
Smith began mapping out her path to the United States Senate at a Congressional Black Caucus “boot camp” Political Training Institute in 2005. She briefly put her plans on hold in 2012 following the death of her 5-year-old son. In January 2019, Smith announced her candidacy for the United States Senate seat currently held by Thom Tillis. Smith, who currently works as a math instructional specialist, has likened her platform to a six-point lesson plan. In the Democratic primary, Smith finished second to winner Cal Cunningham.
