Bobbie Richardson

{{Short description|American politician from North Carolina}}

{{Hatnote|This article is about the politician. She should not be confused with the baseball player Bobby Richardson or the football player Bobby Richardson (American football)}}

{{More footnotes needed|date=February 2014}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Bobbie Richardson

|image = Rep. Bobbie Richardson.jpg

|office = Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party

|term_start = February 27, 2021

|term_end = February 11, 2023

|predecessor = Wayne Goodwin

|successor = Anderson Clayton

|state_house1 = North Carolina

|district1 = 7th

|term_start1 = January 9, 2013

|term_end1 = January 1, 2019

|predecessor1 = Angela Bryant

|successor1 = Lisa Stone Barnes

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|12|25}}

|birth_place = Wood, North Carolina, U.S.

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Democratic

|education = North Carolina Central University (BA, MA)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (PhD)

}}

Bobbie J. Richardson (born December 25, 1949) is an American politician. She is the former Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, former First Vice Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party and a former Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives.{{cite web |url= http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/144266 |title= Representative Bobbie Richardson's Biography |publisher= Project Vote Smart |access-date= October 8, 2013}} She was appointed to represent the 7th District (which includes portions of Franklin and Nash counties) in January 2013 after then-state representative Angela Bryant was appointed to complete the unexpired term of late state senator Edward Jones.{{cite web|url= http://www.governor.state.nc.us/newsroom/proclamation/20130109/appointment-bobbie-j-richardson |title= The Appointment Of Bobbie J. Richardson |publisher= Governor Pat McCrory |date= January 9, 2013 |access-date= October 8, 2013}} Richardson is a retired educator and administrator, with 35 years of experience as an educator in North Carolina public schools.[http://www.loiusburg.edu/about/Trustees/BobbieRichardson.pdf] {{dead link|date=October 2013}} She earned her undergraduate and master's degrees from North Carolina Central University in Durham and her doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Richardson is African-American.{{cite web|url=http://www.ncleg.net/library/Documents/African-Americans.pdf|title=North Carolina African-American Legislators 1969-2015*|access-date=28 February 2016}}

On November 24, 2020, Richardson announced her candidacy to succeed Wayne Goodwin as the Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party via social media and email. She was elected on February 27, 2021, becoming the first Black person in that position.[https://www.wral.com/bobbie-richardson-elected-1st-black-nc-democratic-chair/19549984/ WRAL.com]

On February 11, 2023, Richardson lost re-election as Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party to Anderson Clayton, a 25 year old activist from Roxboro, by a margin of 272-223.{{Cite web |last=WRAL |date=2023-02-11 |title=NC Democratic Party ousts Richardson, shakes up party leadership |url=https://www.wral.com/nc-democratic-party-ousts-richardson-shakes-up-party-leadership/20715638/ |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=WRAL.com |language=en}}