Kevin Crutchfield, a Republican and Concord business owner, is running for North Carolina Senate District 34 in the Nov. 3 general election. He faces Democrat April Cook.

Crutchfield defeated incumbent state Sen. Chris Measmer in the Republican primary on March 3, receiving 53.7% of the vote, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Asked why he is running, Crutchfield said in our candidate questionnaire: "I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing it for this community. Cheryl and I have nine grandchildren growing up in Cabarrus County, and my goal is to hand them the America I grew up with … I've run a small business in Concord for nearly thirty years, and I've served this county in the North Carolina House, so I know what the job takes and how to get results in Raleigh."

Candidate information

Party: "Republican. I am the Republican nominee for North Carolina Senate District 34."

Education: "UNC Charlotte alumni"

Family: "My wife Cheryl and I have built our life and our business in Cabarrus County. We raised our family here, and today we have nine grandchildren, five granddaughters and four grandsons. They are the reason I'm running."

Occupation: "I'm the founder and CFO of Casco Signs in Concord. My wife Cheryl and I started the business in 1998, and we started small, in a 1,200-square-foot house with the office in one of the bedrooms."

Crutchfield said on his campaign website that Casco Signs grew from $50K in revenue in 1998 to over $6M in 2021 and employs approximately 45 to 50 full-time personnel.

Experience and public service

Crutchfield said in our questionnaire: "I served in the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 83, from 2023 through January 2025. I am not currently in office."

He said he was "the primary sponsor of the HOPE Act (House Bill 971), which strengthened North Carolina's human trafficking laws and passed both chambers without a single no vote, and my colleagues and I brought back $180 million in state appropriations for infrastructure in Cabarrus County."

Crutchfield said on his campaign website that he received the 2023 Defender of Public Safety award from the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association and was named North Carolina Federation of Young Republicans Legislator of the Year.

On the issues

What sets him apart: Asked about critical differences between himself and other candidates, Crutchfield said in our questionnaire: "Experience and results. I've done this job … I've also spent nearly thirty years running a small business in Concord, so I know what it means to meet a payroll and live with the decisions Raleigh makes."

Education: Crutchfield told the Charlotte Observer that teacher pay "is a recruitment and retention issue, and NC is behind." He said he supports "a competitive, responsible pay scale" and restoring master's pay. On school choice, he said the Opportunity Scholarship voucher program "has to have limitations on it" so public schools are not undermined.

Taxes: Crutchfield told the Observer he supports continuing to lower North Carolina's income tax rate "but it must be done responsibly," pairing reductions with "fiscal discipline and innovative revenue sources, like regulated sports betting."

Human trafficking: Asked about the HOPE Act's impact, Crutchfield said in our questionnaire: "It requires human trafficking awareness training for hotel and vacation rental workers, the people most likely to see trafficking firsthand. It made soliciting prostitution a felony on the first offense … And it lets victims ask the court to keep their identities confidential, so they can come forward."

Term limits: Asked whether he would commit to a specific limit on his own time in office, Crutchfield said: "I believe in citizen legislators, not career politicians … I intend to serve as long as I'm delivering results for this county, and not a day longer."