Representative Abe Jones Contact information

Abraham Penn Jones, commonly known as Abe Jones, was born on March 7, 1952, in Wilson, North Carolina. He grew up in Raleigh on the campus of Saint Augustine’s University, where his father was an education professor. He attended Wake County Public Schools and was the first black student council member at Enloe High School.

Jones received his formal education from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. After graduating from Harvard University in 1974 and earning his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1977, he returned to North Carolina. He worked for the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the office of the North Carolina Attorney General.

Jones served on the Wake County Board of Commissioners from 1990 to 1994. He was an administrative law judge before his appointment to District 10 of the North Carolina Superior Court by Governor Jim Hunt in 1995. He was elected to the position in 1996 and narrowly won reelection in 2004 over future NC Supreme Court Justice Michael R. Morgan. He served in that role until losing reelection in 2012 to Bryan Collins. He ran unsuccessfully in 2014 and 2016 for election to the Court of Appeals.

Jones has taught classes at the University of North Carolina School of Law. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and Martin Street Baptist Church.

Jones is a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives who has represented the 38th district (including parts of Wake County) since 2021. His current term ends on January 1, 2025. He is running for re-election to the North Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 38. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.