Biography:

Patrick Ballantine was born in Grand Forks, N.D., the son of a corporate comptroller and a teacher. He moved to Charlotte as a young boy and later to Wilmington.

Ballantine was an altar boy in church, a good student and point guard on the basketball team at his private high school, Cape Fear Academy. He earned a degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ballantine got his law degree from the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. As an attorney in Wilmington, Ballantine's focus included business and entertainment law.

First elected to the Senate in 1994 at age 29, Ballantine went on to win five successive terms and was elected Senate Republican leader in 1998. He resigned from his seat in April to run for governor full-time.

Ballantine and his wife, Lisa, also an attorney, have one daughter, Wilker.

Past Campaigns:

Patrick Ballantine was first elected to the North Carolina Senate in 1994, representing the 9th District. He was named Republican leader in 1998. Ballantine was re-elected four successive times before resigning in April to campaign full-time for governor.

He was the top vote-getter with 30 percent of the vote in the six-person Republican gubernatorial primary.

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