|
Melton, Ashe are leading vote-getters in Tuesday races
By Derek Hodges
Unofficial Democrat Primary Election Results in Table Format as PDF
Unofficial Republican Primary Election Results in Table Format as PDF
Months of campaigning came down to tense moments of waiting for local candidates after Tuesday’s (May 2) primary elections.
When the votes were tallied, incumbent Sheriff Jimmy Ashe defeated former Sheriff Jim Cruzan by more than a two-to-one margin in the Democratic primary. Ashe garnered 3,520 votes to Cruzan’s 1,388. Since there is no Republican challenger in the race, Ashe will face no competition in the Nov. 7 General Election.
Only two county commissioners were seeking re-election, and both Democrats will return to the board. Commissioners’ Chairman Brian McMahan is unopposed, and incumbent Joe Cowan narrowly defeated challenger Darrell Fox in District 3, the primary’s closest race. Cowan received 2,276 votes, or 51 percent, to Fox’s 2,192 votes, or 49 percent. Two other commissioners seats – Districts 1 and 2 – were decided Tuesday, because only Democrats filed in those districts. In the race for District 1 commissioner, William Shelton (2,337 votes) defeated Carroll Buchanan (1,210) and Raymond Bunn (1,050).
The contest in District 2 included five candidates, the highest number of any race. Tom Massie won a solid victory, defeating his closest competitor by 1,152 votes. Massie had 2,117 votes, Bob Ginn’s total was 965, Ben Clawson got 695, Keith Parris received 600 and Miguel Baerga had 193.
Only the commissioner from the District 4 seat remains undecided. Republican Geoff Higginbotham will face Tuesday’s Democrat primary winner, Mark Jones, in November.
Jones defeated School Board member Nathan Moss 2,515 to 1,887.
Each commissioners’ candidate had to acquire at least 40 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off. The top vote-getter in each group achieved that mark, with Shelton getting 51 percent, Massie at 46 percent, Cowan receiving 51 percent and Jones taking 57 percent.
In the race for Clerk of Court, Democratic incumbent Ann Melton received 4,031 votes to challenger Elaine Carter’s 626. Since there is no Republican challenger in the race, Melton will face no opposition in the General Election.
Three School Board seats were up-for-grabs Tuesday, though each district had only one candidate. The School Board races are non-partisan.
Incumbents Ken Henke and Ali Laird-Large cruised to another four-year term on the board, and newcomer Tracie Rice will fill the seat vacated by Moss. School Board members will be sworn in during the board’s July meeting.
In the Republican race to decide who will face Sen. John Snow for the District 50 State Senate seat, Ken McKim was second in Jackson County, but was leading the pack district-wide Wednesday morning, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections Web site.
In Jackson County Sue Lynn Ledford came out ahead, with 373 votes. However, McKim was close behind with 358. Candidates Mark Crawford and Rick Bagley were far behind the front-runners, with 109 and 44 votes, respectively.
According to the state elections Web site, McKim received 4,821 votes, Ledford had 4,692, Crawford got 841, and Bagley was at 636.
Rep. Charles Taylor (R-Brevard) is seeking re-election to the U.S. Congress in District 11, but faced primary opposition from John Armor. Taylor defeated Armor, both district-wide and locally. In Jackson County, Taylor received 746 votes to Armor’s 179.
In the Democratic contest to decide who will face Taylor in November, Heath Shuler won over Michael Morgan. Local voters preferred Shuler by a margin of 3,562 to 929.
In judicial contests, Appeals Court Judges Robin Hudson and Ann Marie Calabria have earned the right to face off for the Supreme Court Associate Justice seat left open by Justice George Wainwright, who decided not to seek election to a second term.
All voters were asked to consider one candidate for the seat. In Jackson County, Hudson received 1,228 and Calabria got 1,100. Candidates Bill Gore (964 votes), Jill Cheek (597) and Gus Gray (355) have been eliminated from the contest.
Hudson has been endorsed by several former Democratic justices, while Calabria was endorsed by the N.C. Republican Party.
Voters were also faced with choosing one candidate each for two Appeals Court seats.
Incumbents fared well in both those races, with Judge Bob Hunter garnering the most votes statewide and receiving 2,728 in Jackson County. Hunter will face Kris Bailey, who got 975 votes in Jackson County, in the General Election. Candidate Bill Constangy, who received 461 votes in the county, was eliminated from the contest.
Judge Linda Stephens easily carried Jackson County, with 2,294. Stephens, who also got the most votes statewide, will face Donna Stroud, who received 952 votes locally, in the General Election. Chris Parrish, who got 954 votes in the county, is out of the race.
Jackson County totals listed here apparently do not include all one-stop absentee ballots. All results are considered unofficial until they are certified in next Tuesday’s (May 9) canvass.
|
