Prescription for change: Eason seeks 110 NC House seat for policy reform
- Chuck Thompson
- Jul 26, 2025
- 9 min read
Updated: Jul 28, 2025
EDITOR’S NOTE: The reporter for this article does not live in the 110 NC House district.
At 25, Caroline Eason is anything but ’25,’ as society would expect her to be.
Focused, driven, intelligent and a graduate of the UNC Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy, she is not only a third-generation independent community pharmacist, but also is running as a Republican for the 110 NC House seat. The district is one of 120 districts in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
The 110 NC House district, like most all the districts do not follow county lines, but meanders across two counties, making up mostly the northern part of Cleveland County above Hwy 74, bordering Shelby, all the way up to Casar, and includes western Gaston County, Bessemer city, parts of Dallas and even bits of Gastonia.
The Shelby Independent had the opportunity to interview Eason for a walk and talk conversation around Uptown Shelby.
Eason, an Upper Cleveland native, with a taste for liver mush and politics, who is also a firm believer in her faith and a member of Hull’s Grove Baptist Church, talked about why she felt compelled to run for the 110 NC House district, what she hopes to accomplish if elected, and who Caroline Eason is as a person.
Facing off against Kelly Hastings, who won two-thirds of the vote in the last election, 67.5%, and has represented the district since 2011, Eason has her mind set on winning in 2026, believing it’s time to start making changes in a district that deserves a fresh face, new ideas, and to bring a different way to tackle serious issues head-on that are affecting North Carolinians every day.
“I've watched my dad and my grandpa serve people from across the pharmacy counter since as long as I can remember,” Eason said. “I knew that I wanted to keep that going, and keep our pharmacies open and keep them in the family, keep them as an independent small business. That’s what led me to go into pharmacy.”
Eason said she noticed a concerning issue that was affecting small businesses across the state, with many being regulated by the same impactful polices of national corporations which put a stranglehold on state-sized and localized businesses, such as mom and pop pharmacies.
“Take the meatpacking industry, farmers in general, community banks,” she explained. “Can you expect a community bank with much smaller deposits, in a smaller market cap to meet all the same regulations that a national bank does? It's the same concept, but it's in almost every industry.”
It’s choking small businesses, and locally owned pharmacies are no exception. She wondered why more people weren’t paying attention to small businesses slowly being bought up, or put out of business by the national corporations.
“It’s happening to every industry,” Eason said. “It hurts them, and then they disappear. They become a memory in a photograph of what used to be.”
Why aren’t more people paying attention to this?
“Because they don’t know,” she said, speaking of the legislation hurting small businesses across the state, such as here in Cleveland County.
”It’s [the legislation policies] so convoluted, abstract, smoke and mirrors to where it's really hard to get to the root of the issue and people aren't sure what to believe because you hear different companies, different people, telling you different sides of the story,” explained Eason. “However, I know what goes on and I know ‘the books’ out of an independent pharmacy.”
Eason said her knowledge of small pharmacies is a beginning to work for reform and helps her to understand better what small businesses have to deal with when it comes to North Carolina legislation.
Having had an interest in politics since high school, Eason was inspired to help make a difference in struggling small businesses having to fight the choke hold of regulation that benefited national companies.
While in college, she got involved with an organization at Chapel Hill called The National Community Pharmacists Association. Before long, Eason was appointed to a legislative advisory council for federal pharmacy and health care policy.
“We focus on access to health care and with an emphasis on pharmacy accessibility,” she noted. “It’s been really rewarding.”
The policy group has sent Eason to Washington D.C. where she has witnessed first-hand what an impact citizens can have when they meet with their officials, experiencing how things work in the nation’s capital with representatives from various districts across the state and the country.
“I’ve seen how officials may not necessarily even have time to meet with their constituents or have time to really just listen because all the administrative red tape that might come with the office – or just priorities are focused on other things, such as fundraising or things that aren't necessarily fixing issues in their district.”
But she said that's on more of a federal level. Eason plans to start making changes on the state and local level.
“Here at home, there are a lot of things in our lives that we don't realize are determined by state-level politics,” she said. “State-level policy, state-level legislation.”
Pharmacy is one of those fields where that legislation can be really impactful, leading to ease the burden on other industries where smaller businesses are operating in the state.
“We can fix the problem at least for our state,” she said, adamantly.
Eason connected with a freshman representative in Lincoln County, Heather Rhyne, who is also a pharmacist.
“She has done a phenomenal job and I've got to work with her and learned about processes and what's the right way to make sure legislation is implementable versus just writing legislation.
Eason stated she had a chance to witness the crucial steps to making effective, impactful legislation.
The legislation Eason was referring to is The Script Act.
North Carolina state government recently passed legislation impacting pharmacies, which is expected to increase transparency, lower prescription drug costs, and expand access to healthcare services, especially in underserved areas.
“Independent pharmacies are put under a lot of pressure with current infrastructure, current insurance company contracts, pharmacy benefit manager contracts,” said Eason. “There was a time when I didn't know if my family's business was going to make it.
She continued, “And it's to the point where it's so big of an issue that since 2023, one pharmacy has, on average, one independent pharmacy has closed per day.”
Staggering numbers when considering how many small-owned pharmacies are disappearing in place of the larger corporate-owned stores.
“After watching my dad and my grandpa work their tails off my whole life, and me dedicating my career to the same thing; I've worked as an employee in the pharmacy really since I was 12,” she explained. “So, it had been my whole dream really to keep the pharmacies going. And then it got to the point where about two to three years ago, we didn't know if the pharmacies were going to be there another month, let alone another year.”
But even some larger stores have seen a pullback across the state due to bad policy.
Walgreens has closed 1,200 stores across the country over the past few years, with several being close to home.
Part of the reason for so many closures across larger and independent pharmacies is the copay is set by the insurance companies, that also can pay the pharmacy what they decide for the drug, sometimes below cost.
“When we submit a claim (to the insurance companies) it doesn't necessarily mean
that we're paid what we paid for the drug,” noted Eason. “A lot of the drugs that we fill are below cost and that is below the cost of the drug itself. Plus, you have to consider having to staff at a pharmacy, employees have to get paid – they have to make a living, too. A pharmacy has to buy prescription bottles for your pills, buying labels or even paying for electricity and other costs of the business; it’s a real struggle.”
She added that brand drugs are a drain on a pharmacy – part of the Script Act hopes to change that problem.
The new laws will help with the follow issues, providing relief for pharmacies:
Ensuring consumers receive the full benefit of prescription drug rebates at the pharmacy counter, rather than those rebates being retained by payers.
Allowing rural and urban pharmacies in underserved areas to enter into specialized contracts, potentially including higher reimbursement rates or partnerships to offer screenings for conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. Previously, such benefits would have had to be extended to all pharmacies statewide, making them unaffordable.
Prohibiting Pharmacy Service Administrative Organizations (PSAOs) from requiring independent pharmacies to purchase more expensive drugs from specific wholesalers when more affordable options are available.
But the changes haven’t come fast enough. One Walgreens store closed in Shelby back on Feb. 19, consolidating their service to the N. Dekalb location, while another store in Gastonia is expected to close soon.
With closings of any kinds of business, comes job loss and thus affects the local economy, if it spreads too far.
One of Eason’s main focuses is on the economy, wanting strong job growth for both small businesses and all other employers.
“Certain manufacturers and companies may not be in my district, but their employees are,” she stressed. “They live in my district and that matters to me, even if the business may not be (in the 110 NC House district).”
Eason knows what it takes to fight for what she believes in, and is no stranger to forging her own path, being true to her roots and beliefs.
As a native of Lawndale, she carried her conservative values to college, where she grew both in her faith, her values and overcoming adversity being a conservative in a setting where one might not always be accepted by others for traditional conservative values.
“An overwhelming majority of outspoken people are not conservative at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,” she said as she walked across the old county courthouse square talking with The Shelby Independent. “However, I was able to find really good quality conservative friends, whether it be through church groups, organizations, or just talking to people; you'd be really surprised.”
She added, “And going to meetings for, say, college Republicans was also a way that I could connect with like-minded individuals.”
But all the support she had, feeling safe for the most part, she also experienced some difficulties when some of her classmates, and other friends, found out she was a republican.
“I definitely lost some friends,” she said humbly. “It's sad because that's not what I base my friendships on.”
Having experienced the loss of friendships based only on party affiliation, she knows what it feels like to be left out, ignored and treated differently for just having a difference of opinion, and stressed the importance of the residents in her district to know that she will be a voice for everyone.
“If you're in my district, I'm representing you,” Eason said, firmly. “Whether you're registered Democrat, Republican, Independent, another third party, I will, if elected, I will be your representative.”
“And I want to be a listening ear to everyone,” she added.
(Eason article continued below)
Eason again stressed the importance of supporting the local economy, through many aspects, across Cleveland and Gaston Counties.
“I want to work for the people of the 110 District, and across the state, to ensure that we have affordable, quality health care, which comes with protecting how special Cleveland and Gaston Counties are; and I’m advocate for all of those who fight to keep us safe and protected.”
She noted that keeping people safe wasn’t just from usual crime, per se, but safe from a platitude of issues.
“I want to help ensure election integrity, support our law enforcement personnel who work tirelessly to keep drugs off the street.”
She continued, “If elected, I would start my term supporting law enforcement. And when that term ends, and if elected again, I'll keep supporting law enforcement, making sure they have the resources they need, have the support they require and the respect that they have earned.”
For anyone wondering where she stands, she said she voted for Trump and it was okay to say so.
“You can tell people I voted for Trump,” she said.
When asked if she would be able to work with the current North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, and reach across the aisle when needed, she replied, “I think that if you're in elected office, your job – your priority – is to represent the interest of those who elected you. You are their advocate, their voice. And you have to be willing to work with people who see things differently.”
“She added, “Elected officials are there because they are representing people of North Carolina from their own local district, too. You have to be able to build bridges for progress.”
Eason stressed the importance of being aware that it won’t always be easy, or at a rate which some people may like, but it’s another fight worth taking on.
“And sometimes it's not as big of steps of progress as people would want, but you certainly have to be willing to work with a governor of a different party and representatives of different parties who have common interests, because they are there representing the interest of their people. We’re all North Carolinians and should want what is best for the people of our state, not what’s best for the politicians.”
When asked what her favorite thing about her district was, the answer was simple.
“I love the people – how our people value tradition and how unique – yet aligned – our people are for good. Of course, it's the key to all of this, our unity and our good people.”
To learn more about Caroline Eason and her campaign for 110 NC House, visit CarolineEason.com .
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Chuck Thompson is a reporter for The Shelby Independent. He can be reached at chuck.reporter@gmail.com .
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