Deborah Ross (née Koff; born June 20, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district since 2021.

[4] After graduating from law school, Ross worked for Raleigh-based Hunton & Williams as a tax litigator and municipal bond lawyer.

Alongside Governor Jim Hunt and then State Senator Roy Cooper, she overhauled North Carolina's system for dealing with youth offenders.

In response to racial profiling reports, she also successfully encouraged state police agencies to collect race-based statistics for traffic stops.

[1][5] On May 1, 2013, Ross announced she would resign from the legislature in June to serve as legal counsel for GoTriangle, the triangle area's regional transit agency.

[10] Ross was first elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in 2002 and defeated Wake County Commissioner Phil Jeffreys in 2004 to win a second term.

[11] In 2012, Ross compared state coastal protection policies that ignore scientists' sea level rise forecasts to burying one's "head in the sand".

She said she was concerned that increased risk of flooding would lead insurance companies to charge higher premiums for coastal property owners.

[21] With pundits suggesting that the 2nd was a likely Democratic pickup, Republican incumbent George Holding, who had represented much of the area for two terms in the 13th district before it was essentially merged with the 2nd in 2016, opted to retire.

[32] She voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 which provided $8 billion of funding for highways and public transportation in North Carolina.

The legislation also directed funds toward expanding broadband access in rural communities and replacing lead water pipes nationwide.