Ada Fisher, one of NC’s most noteworthy Black Republicans, dies in Salisbury crash
Ada Markita Fisher, one of the most prominent and well-respected Black women in North Carolina’s Republican Party for years, who formally announced the state delegate count for Donald Trump at the 2016 GOP Convention, died last Friday in a single-car accident on the edge of her hometown of Salisbury.
She was 74 years old — and just two weeks shy of her 75th birthday.
By trade, Fisher was a physician, having been educated as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro before earning her MD at the University of Wisconsin (and, later, a masters of public health from Johns Hopkins); then going on to an illustrious career in her chosen field, including jobs as medical director of Amoco Oil Company and director of occupational health services at the VA in Salisbury.
But later in life, she found a second calling, as an outspoken champion of conservative ideals and an aspiring politician who worked tirelessly to diversify the state Republican Party.
Although Fisher was unsuccessful in attempts to run for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, North Carolina GOP activists in 2008 elected her as North Carolina Republican National Committeewoman, making her the first Black woman to serve in the position. She was subsequently reelected to two additional four-year terms at that post.
In 2013, she played a key role in the opening of the RNC’s African-American engagement office in North Carolina. In 2014, she was a founding member of the RNC’s North Carolina Black Advisory Board.
“She was a vocal advocate for increasing diversity within a political party that has skewed white,” former News & Observer reporter Colin Campbell, now editor of the North Carolina Tribune, said in an email to The Charlotte Observer on Monday. “I think if you were to compare the number of non-white 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.”
Fisher was held in high esteem within the N.C. Republican Party as a result of these contributions, which led to her being selected to make the state’s 2016 announcement on the GOP convention floor in Cleveland.
“I had 72 delegates up there,” recalls Dallas Woodhouse, who was executive director of the state Republican Party at the time, “and ... of actual delegates, everybody would be honored to do that. No matter who was being nominated. ... And there was no question they were gonna have Dr. Fisher do it. I mean, she was that revered.”
And when she stepped to the microphone wearing a Trump ballcap and holding a Trump T-shirt over her chest, she made sure to trumpet diversity.
“North Carolina is a party that was founded and funded by Blacks and whites,” Fisher said, “and one of the points that most people don’t know about this state is that 10% of all the Historically Black Colleges and Universities are within its borders. We proudly cast our 29 votes for the next president of the United States, the honorable Donald John Trump.”
She was in fact an early supporter of Trump, and in a 2016 profile written by Campbell she noted some similarities in her and the billionaire’s speaking styles.
“He can be a little tactless at times, but I have been accused of the same thing, so I laugh at that,” she said.
But more seriously, Fisher said, “We have to create things that can be made in this country and stay in this country ... and Trump understands that better than anybody.”
Even after her tenure as RNC committeewoman ended in 2020, she continued to provide blunt viewpoints, penning often-brash opinion pieces for local audiences (as a columnist for the Salisbury Post) and national ones (as an occasional contributor to the website for Newsmax, the conservative cable network).
In one the Salisbury Post published last August, she expressed misgivings about the former president, writing:
“The failure of Donald Trump to modulate his mouth in both tone and rhetoric, as was done in his last two presidential debates, has been a killer. Trump has a never-ending victim posture rather than taking a breath to talk about the good things he did and effective policies which worked and are still needed.”
As news of her death spread Monday, several notable political figures recognized her impact while expressing condolences on Twitter.
- North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis: “Dr. Ada Fisher was an incredible woman and an NCGOP institution who fought harder than anyone to support the party and advance conservative principles. Susan and I send our deepest condolences to her children and family.”
- Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee since 2017 and niece of Mitt Romney (whose 2012 presidential campaign counted Fisher as an adviser): “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.”
- N.C. Rep. Ted Budd, a candidate for U.S. Senate: “We are saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Ada Fisher and Amy Kate and I extend our deepest sympathies to her family. Dr. Fisher was never one to shy away from a spirited discussion and her passion for making our party and our state better helped make us all better people. Dr. Fisher was a good person and will be missed by all who knew her.”
According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Fisher was driving west on Sherrills Ford Road in the Salisbury area when her vehicle veered off the road into a ditch near Hurley School Road just before 3 p.m. Friday. She was pronounced dead after police arrived.
Fisher reportedly never married, but raised two sons who she adopted.
“It’s an incredibly sad day,” added Woodhouse, who led the state GOP from 2015 to 2019. “She was as unique and as genuine of a person in politics as I’ve ever known.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 1:03 PM.
