North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation Releases 2025 Legislative Business Rankings

Today, the North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation (NCFREE) released its 2025 Legislative Business Rankings, providing a comprehensive analysis of how state lawmakers helped or hurt North Carolina’s environment for business competitiveness. These rankings highlight individual legislators’ commitment to free enterprise, providing an important data point on business issues, often ignored by legacy media outlets.  

“As North Carolina once again leads the nation as a top destination for jobs and investment, our competitiveness continues to depend on lawmakers’ commitment to pro-business priorities,” NCFREE Executive Director Alex Baltzegar said. “These ratings should be the north star for business leaders who want to evaluate who supports business priorities and who does not in the North Carolina legislature.” 

Baltzegar continued: “We applaud those lawmakers who performed well, and we are proud to offer this valuable resource to business leaders and voters as we continue to partner with private-sector and civic leaders to keep our state the best for business.” 

The methodology examines state lawmakers’ commitment to free-enterprise-related legislation in addition to surveys from business and trade associations with exhaustive knowledge of the legislature. NC FREE was founded in 1983 to provide data-driven analysis of elections, campaign finance, and the legislative environment to help business and civic leaders make informed decisions. NC FREE is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that does not lobby or endorse candidates.  

“NCFREE’s ratings have become the benchmark for our state’s business leaders to understand and proactively lead in how policy decisions impact North Carolina’s economy,” NCFREE Board of Directors Chairman Mike Rusher said. “For more than 41 years, NCFREE has offered the clarity and data-driven insight that business and civic leaders rely on to make informed decisions. This year’s ratings again show North Carolinians how decisions made today build the foundation for future growth.” 

NCFREE’s 2025 LBRs recognize lawmakers of both parties and legislative chambers who consistently supported free enterprise. This year’s top-performing state senators are: Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), Timothy D. Moffitt (R-Henderson), Brent Jackson (R-Sampson), Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick), and Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell).  

This year’s top-performing state house members are: Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell), John R. Bell, IV (R-Wayne), Jeff Zenger (R-Forsyth), Dean Arp (R-Union), Mike Schietzelt (R-Wake), Cody Huneycutt (R-Montgomery, Stanly), Karl E. Gillespie (R-Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon), Stephen M. Ross (R-Alamance), Allen Chesser (R-Nash), and Jimmy Dixon (R-Duplin). 

Also of note are our most-improved legislators from the 2023-2024 LBR to the 2025 LBR: Sen. Dan Blue (D-Wake) +23.8 and Sen. Joyce Waddell (D-Mecklenburg) +9.7; Rep. Carla Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg) +16.2 and Rep. Ray Jeffers (D-Person) +14.1.  

Here’s NC FREE’s 2025 Legislative Business Rating: