Dan Blue

Notable work and positions

North Carolina State Senate - Senator, District 14 (2009-present); Senate Democratic Leader
North Carolina House of Representatives - Speaker (1991-1994)

Biography

Daniel Terry "Dan" Blue Jr. is a North Carolina politician and attorney who represents Senate District 14 (Wake County) in the North Carolina State Senate, where he serves as Senate Democratic Leader. Born April 18, 1949, in Lumberton, North Carolina, he earned a B.S. in mathematics from North Carolina Central University in 1970 and a J.D. from Duke University Law School in 1973, and has been a partner at the Thigpen, Blue, Stephens and Fellers law firm since 1976. He served as speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1991 to 1994. From 1991 to 1994, Chris Fitzsimon, who later founded the North Carolina news and commentary outlet NC Policy Watch, served as Blue's spokesperson, speechwriter and policy adviser. Blue was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2008 and has been reelected in subsequent cycles, most recently in 2024.