A Democrat, Adams represented the state's 58th House district in Guilford County in the North Carolina General Assembly from her appointment in April 1994 until her election to Congress, succeeded by Ralph C.

[2] She won the 2014 special election in North Carolina's 12th congressional district to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mel Watt, becoming the 100th woman serving in the 113th Congress.

[3][4] Adams was born on May 27, 1946, in High Point, North Carolina, to Benjamin Shealey and Mattie Stokes.

[6] After completing her graduate studies, Adams was appointed chair of the art department at the Palmer Institute, where she taught students in grades seven through twelve.

[5][10] She was appointed to the state House to fill the seat of Representative Herman Gist, who had died in office.

Stafford, a businessman, retired engineer, and perennial candidate, who had previously run for office as both a Democrat and a Republican.

That year, she was challenged by Libertarian candidate David Williams, who withdrew from the race before the election but remained on the ballot.

[18] From 2004 onward, she faced repeated challenges from Republican legal assistant and party activist Olga Morgan Wright, defeating her in every election through 2012.

In April 2013, Mel Watt, the only congressman to have served the 12th District since its creation in 1993, was appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

[29]Analysts thought that Adams was at a geographic disadvantage in the five-way primary for both the special and regular elections (held on the same day in November 2014).

She faced Republican Vince Coakley, a former television and radio broadcaster from Matthews, in the general and special elections, which were held on the same day.

[31] With seven Charlotteans splitting the vote, Adams won the 2016 Democratic primary with 42%, just over the threshold to avoid a runoff.

[34] Adams and Representatives A. Donald McEachin and Brian Fitzpatrick introduced the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act in 2022, would have the National Park Service work with local governments to identify, survey, research, and preserve historic African American cemeteries and burial grounds.