Bryan Cohn
Democratic · NC · North Carolina State Representative, House District 32
Bryan Cohn is a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for District 32 (Granville and Vance counties), first elected in 2024 by officially 233 votes over then-incumbent Frank Sossamon — a win that broke the Republican supermajority in the chamber. Raised in Henderson and living in Oxford, he attended North Carolina State University and worked in food safety and quality assurance before serving on the Oxford Board of Commissioners from 2021. After the party's 2026 primary winner withdrew for health reasons, a district committee unanimously named Cohn the Democratic nominee for a November rematch against Sossamon.
Track record
Housing Affordability
· 1 record
As primary sponsor in the 2025-26 session, filed House Bill 68 to restore county down-zoning authority for Granville and Vance counties, part of a broader primary-sponsored agenda including property-tax appeal transparency, eviction-record expunction, rental air-conditioning standards, a PFAS ban, and IVF protections, most of which stalled in committee in the Republican-controlled House.
February 10, 2025For
Source: ncleg.gov · researched July 3, 2026
Civil Rights
· 1 record
Voted against House Bill 318, the Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act requiring local sheriffs' cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, at every stage — including the July 29, 2025 vote that overrode the governor's veto 71-49, where he held with the Democratic minority.
July 29, 2025For
Source: ncleg.gov · researched July 3, 2026
Public Infrastructure
· 2 records
Led public opposition to Section V of Senate Bill 214, which would have let Franklin County acquire land in Vance, Halifax, and Warren counties by eminent domain for the Kerr Lake Regional Water System dispute, calling it "a direct hit to local control"; the House Speaker subsequently pulled the bill from consideration.
April 24, 2026For
Source: wptf.com · researched July 3, 2026
Publicly fought House Bill 74's redirection of a $10 million state appropriation away from Oxford's Kerr Lake Regional Water System expansion to projects in Republican-held districts, calling the clawback "retribution for winning House District 32" and noting the provision was inserted one day before the floor vote.
May 7, 2025For
Source: wunc.org · researched July 3, 2026
General
· 2 records
Voted for Senate Bill 266, the Duke Energy-backed Power Bill Reduction Act, on House passage June 10, 2025 (75-36), then voted against overriding the governor's veto of the final bill on July 29, 2025, when the override succeeded 72-48 with several other Democrats joining Republicans.
July 29, 2025
Source: ncleg.gov · researched July 3, 2026
As an Oxford city commissioner from 2021 to 2024, worked on affordable housing, infrastructure investment, local business development, and expanded public green spaces before his election to the legislature.
October 14, 2024
Source: ncvoices.com · researched July 3, 2026
Elections
- NC House of Representatives District 32 · November 3, 2026 · State House District 32; North Carolina · incumbent
Profile last researched July 3, 2026.