Lisa Grafstein is an American lawyer and politician serving as a member of the North Carolina Senate from the 13th district since 2023. She is a civil rights attorney specializing in employment law. She was the litigation counsel of Disability Rights North Carolina. As of 2023, she is the only out LGBTQ North Carolina state senator.
Grafstein was born on September 7, 1966. She earned a B.A. in English from Northwestern University. In 1993, while completing law school, Grafstein spoke in support of gay rights. She completed a J.D. from University of North Carolina School of Law. Grafstein is a civil rights attorney from Raleigh, North Carolina. She specializes in employment law. In 2022, she was working as the litigation counsel of a nonprofit organization, Disability Rights North Carolina.
A Democrat, Grafstein ran successfully in the 2022 North Carolina Senate election for the 13th district. She defeated city council member Patrick Buffkin in the primary election and retired engineer David Bankert and political scientist Michael Munger in the general election. On March 7, 2023, she introduced Bill 225 aimed at permitting North Carolina municipalities to enact rent regulation. In June 2023, she expressed skepticism over a proposal to introduce a photo ID requirement for all voters including by mail. She also worried about the potential impacts of a fast-moving bill to legalize video sports gambling. In July 2023, she opposed the Republican-led ban on gender-affirming care. As of 2023, she is the only out LGBTQ North Carolina state senator.
In the 2022 North Carolina Senate 13th district Democratic primary election, Lisa Grafstein received 11,931 votes, accounting for 66.59% of the total votes. In the 2022 North Carolina Senate 13th district general election, Lisa Grafstein received 50,937 votes, accounting for 62.34% of the total votes.
