Dr. Ada Fisher, one of the most influential Black women in North Carolina’s Republican Party, has died at age 74, “The Charlotte Observer” reports.
The Durham native was a former congressional candidate and retired physician. She suffered fatal injuries in a single-car accident on Oct. 7 near her hometown of Salisbury. The Fisher Memorial Funeral Parlor in Durham — where Fisher’s nephew, Christopher C. Fisher, is a parlor staff member — confirmed her death, WFAE 970 reports.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said Fisher died after the vehicle she was driving west on Sherrills Ford Road veered off the road and into a ditch. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to The Observer.
“A lifelong North Carolinian, Dr. Fisher was a trailblazer whose distinguished life of accomplishment and service is an inspiration to all North Carolinians,” said NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley in a statement, WBTV reports. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Fisher family and loved ones as they mourn the loss of this remarkable woman.”
Fisher ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and the U.S. House in 2004 and 2006. However, she had more success in North Carolina’s Republican leadership. She was the state’s Republican National Committeewoman from 2008 to 2020, The Observer reported, making her the first Black woman to hold that position. At the 2016 Republican convention, it was Fisher who announced that the state’s electoral college votes would go to Donald Trump.
She used her platform to push for more diversity within the GOP and was instrumental in the opening of the RNC’s African-American engagement office in North Carolina in 2013. A year later, she co-founded the RNC’s North Carolina Black Advisory Board.
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“I think if you were to compare the number of nonwhite Republican candidates in North Carolina this election with the number a few years ago, it’s clear her influence helped her party make some progress in that regard,” Colin Campbell, editor of the North Carolina Tribune, told The Observer.
Various GOP political figures paid homage to Fisher on Twitter upon learning of her death.
“Dr. Fisher lived a life dedicated to North Carolina and to our country. She will be greatly missed and my prayers are with her family,” said Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee and niece of Mitt Romney.
“Dr. Ada Fisher was an incredible woman and an NCGOP institution who fought harder than anyone to support the party and advance conservative principles,” said North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. “Susan and I send our deepest condolences to her children and family.”
Before she became involved in politics, Fisher worked as a medical director of Amoco Oil Company and at the VA in Salisbury as the director of occupational health services.
She died two weeks before her 75th birthday. She never married and is survived by two adopted sons.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
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