Lorene T. Coates

Lorene Thomason Coates (born January 13, 1936) is an American former politician who served as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the seventy-seventh House district, including constituents in Rowan county from 2001 to 2011.

A retiree from Salisbury, North Carolina, she worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has hosted a weekly radio show and for twenty years wrote a newspaper column in the Salisbury Post.

On March 30, 2006, she gained distinction by being the first Democratic member of the House to publicly call for House Speaker Jim Black, a fellow Democrat, to step down from his post as Speaker following investigations of his misconduct. Black later resigned from the House and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of public corruption.

In 2007 she announced her support for John Edwards' presidential campaign.

Electoral history

After redistricting, Coates' House District changed from 35 to 77.