RALEIGH — The North Carolina General Assembly convened in late April for its short session with more than 300 votes on legislation. The primary work of the short session closed at the end of June with the General Assembly overriding three of Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes but no new state budget. Legislators departed the capital for election season with several major policy priorities, including expansion of the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program and several proposed constitutional amendments.
During this session, more than 1,200 companies and organizations had at least one registered lobbyist and over 750 individuals have served as registered lobbyists or legislative liaisons this year.
During the last month of the legislative session, North State Journal polled the members of the N.C. House and Senate to determine which lobbyists and liaisons are most effective in influencing legislation in the state. Of the 170 members of the N.C. General Assembly, 56 members participated in the survey. Notably, 82% of the responsive representatives and senators said they had read a print copy of North State Journal in the past year.
The 13-question survey sought to determine the scope, scale and success of each lobbyist nominated by legislators. This fourth edition of the North State Journal’s N.C. Top Lobbyists rankings include, for the first time, separate categories for lobbyists representing single companies as well as lobbyists representing trade associations and nonprofits. The rankings also include legislative liaisons, a group of legislative influencers who advocate for the policies of state institutions, cabinet agencies and Council of State offices.
In all, 133 individuals received at least one vote from legislative members but less than 4% of the registered lobbyists and liaisons made the list. The lobbyists survey was conducted in June 2024 and was delivered to every member of the General Assembly via email.
The rankings of the Top 10 Lobbyists, followed by the Top 25, company lobbyists, agency liaisons and association and nonprofit lobbyists, in alphabetical order, are:
Sarah Bales, Brubaker & Associates — Bales, an attorney and lobbyist, represented 32 clients this year, which included education, technology, health care, manufacturing, insurance, and national and state associations.
Patrick Ballantine, Ballantine Company — The former state senator and 2004 Republican nominee for governor represented 11 clients, including the Sports Betting Alliance and various health care industry clients.
Harold Brubaker, Brubaker & Associates — Brubaker, the former Speaker of the House, represented 25 clients, including longtime blue-chip companies Amazon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, Fed Ex, PepsiCo and Nationwide. Brubaker also represents several associations including the American Bail Coalition, NC Bankers Association, N.C. Beer and Wine Wholesalers, N.C. Cable Telecommunications Association and the N.C. League of Municipalities.
John J. Cooper, Connect C LLC — Cooper has experience at the state and federal government level having served in three presidential administrations. His firm, Connect C, is a full-service government relations and lobbying firm working with 22 clients in the short session, including various agriculture and farming interests, telecommunications and health care firms.
John Hardin, Manning Fulton & Skinner — John represented 45 clients, including major national corporations such as Bayer, Charter, Expedia and national trade associations such as the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers Association (PhRMA). He also represents several groups and public organizations, including the Insurance Federation of N.C., the N.C. Railroad Company and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Jim Harrell, Harrell & Associates, PLLC — Harrel, a former state representative, registered for 36 clients in 2024. His clients included Accenture, NCInnovation, WakeMed and various health care industry groups.
Ches McDowell, Checkmate Government Relations — McDowell leads Checkmate Government Relations, a firm he founded before this year’s session. He registered for 60 clients across diverse industries, including health care, financial services, entertainment, technology, aviation, municipal government, elections, energy, pharmaceuticals, real estate development, gaming and professional sports.
David Powers, Powers Strategies, LLC — Powers focuses on representing corporate clients at the General Assembly and state regulatory agencies. Powers had a 25-year history in corporate government affairs before starting Powers Strategies eight years ago. The firm represents such prominent clients as Reynolds American, Blue Cross Blue Shield, DraftKings, FanDuel, Elevance Health, NCInnovation, Southland Gaming and Imagine Learning. Powers recently ended 12 years as a member of the UNC Board of Governors, and now sits on the NC State University Board of Trustees.
Dana Simpson, Smith Anderson — Simpson leads the government relations practice at Smith Anderson, the largest law firm in the state capitol. His practice includes representing clients before the General Assembly and state agencies. In 2024, Simpson registered for 39 clients across a diverse range of industries, including telecommunications, health care and energy.
Zane Stilwell, Stilwell Group Government Affairs — Stilwell represents clients on a broad range of administrative and legislative matters. He registered for 17 clients in 2024, including Carvana, JPMorgan Chase, Charter Schools USA, ITG Brands, J&J Gaming, Penn Entertainment and Veritas Technologies.
The Top 25 Lobbyists
David Ferrell (Maynard Nexsen), Tom Fetzer (Fetzer Strategic Partners), Nelson Freeman (Checkmate Government Relations), Karson Nelson Hallow (East Carolina University), Bryan Holloway (Holloway Group), Harry Kaplan (McGuireWoods Consulting), Tracy Kimbrell (Tracy Kimbrell Government Affairs, LLC), Lewis King (Manning Fulton & Skinner), Anna Scott Marsh (Michael Best Strategies LLC), Ryan Minto (Duke Energy), Dylan Reel (Kilpatrick Townsend), Jackson Stancil (Jones Street Consulting), Christopher Stock (Kairos Government Affairs), Susan Vick (Fetzer Strategic Partners), Kevin Wilkinson (The Southern Group)
Company lobbyists
Becki Gray (Blue Cross NC), Laura Kilian (N.C. Farm Bureau), Stephen Kouba (Smithfield Foods), Ryan Minto (Duke Energy), Claudia Shoemaker (Duke Energy)
Liaisons
Cameron Dawson (N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services), Matthew Dockham (Appalachian State University), Karson Nelson Hallow (East Carolina University), Chris McClure (UNC Chapel Hill), Austen Nowell (The University of North Carolina System), Fred Steen (N.C. Department of Public Instruction)
Association and nonprofit lobbyists
Andy Ellen (North Carolina Retail Merchants Association), Marie Hartwell Evitt (North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association), John Policastro (North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association), Will Robinson (The Nature Conservancy), Joe Stewart (Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina)
