Paul Newton (politician)

Paul Newton
Born	(1960-06-02) June 2, 1960 United States
Occupation(s)	Corporate leader, politician
Years active	2017–2025 (politics)
Known for	North Carolina State Senate, Senate Majority Leader

Paul Robert Newton (born June 2, 1960) is an American corporate leader and Republican lawmaker who represented North Carolina's 36th and 34th Senate districts from 2017 until 2025. He stepped down in March 2025 to assume the role of Vice Chancellor and general counsel at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Political career

In April 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in North Carolina, Newton was one of five Republican senators advocating for Governor Roy Cooper to allow the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR event at Charlotte Motor Speedway to proceed without spectators. The next year, he introduced legislation creating a "liability shield" that provided certain protections to businesses and organizations from lawsuits related to COVID-19.

During 2021, as part of Republican initiatives aimed at tightening voting regulations following the 2020 election, Newton put forward a bill restricting counties from counting absentee mail-in ballots that were postmarked on or before election day unless they were received by 5 p.m. on that same day. He expressed concerns about ballots processed after election day; his proposal would have disqualified approximately 11,000 ballots that were accepted during the three-day extension period in 2020.

A former executive at Duke Energy and an active member of the Senate's energy committee, Newton opposed measures that would limit natural gas development within North Carolina.

Serving as co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee in 2021, Newton championed legislation aimed at lowering the state income tax rate from 5.25% to 4.99%.

In November 2022, Newton was chosen as Senate Majority Leader for the legislative session spanning 2023–2024, a position he held until his departure in 2025 to join the administration at UNC Chapel Hill.