Early voting started this morning, and runs through Feb. 26 at 3 p.m.
Five early voting sites are open in Columbus County – the board of elections, Ransom Center, Chadbourn Municipal Annex, Tabor City Courthouse, and Fair Bluff fire department photo ID is required to vote in this election. If you do not have a valid ID, you can get one for free at the board of elections office until Feb. 26. The primary is March 3.
During the primaries, voters may only use ballots for their registered party. Unaffiliated voters must ask for a Democrat or Republican ballot. Several races will essentially be decided in the primary, barring petitioned write-ins or unaffiliated candidates.
In the sheriff’s race, four Republicans are the only candidates to file. No Democrats signed up to run for the nomination. Appointed sheriff Bill Rogers faces Josh McPherson, Ken Elliot and Kevin Norris.
Republican Jess Hill is unopposed for clerk of court.
Irvin Enzor and Chris Worley are unopposed for the County Board of Education Districts Three and Four seats they currently hold. Neither will face a Democrat in the November election.
Republican Ronnie Dale Strickland is unopposed for the County Board of Education District Two nomination. He will face Beatrice Addison-Robinson in November. Addison-Robinson is the only Democrat to file to run for a county school board seat.
In the county commissioner’s races, Democrat Barbara Featherson is unopposed for the District One nomination. No Republicans filed for the position.
The District Six Commissioner’s race has Republican incumbent Rickey Bullard facing a challenge from Jeanne McPherson and Jody Hinson. Alonzo McArthur and Jeff Register are running for the democrat nod for District Seven, which is currently held by Republican Scott Floyd. He is unopposed in the primary.
First Assistant District Attorney Jenna Early and Brunswick County lawyer J.K. Somers are vying for the Republican nomination for district attorney. Jon David opted not to run for reelection, and endorsed Early. This is Somers first run for political office.
In state races, Republican Brenden Jones, the incumbent representative from Tabor City, will face Democrat Brittany Newton of Whiteville in the fall. Fair Bluff native and Southport resident Bill Rabon has no challenger in the Republican primary for State Senate. He will face Democrat Rick Combes of Ocean Isle and Libertarian Timothy White of Wilmington in November.
Congressman David Rouzer will face Democrat Kimberly Hardy in the fall.
In one of the most-watched races in the country, a wide range of Republican candidates are running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Thom Tillis.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper is leading the pack of Democrat candidates. Cooper is on the Democrat ticket against Daryl Farrow, Marcus Williams, Orrick Quick, Justin Dues and Robert Colon.
Cooper saw a drop in some polls last week when records showed the list of thousands of prison inmates under then-governor Cooper’s COVID release program was Decarlos Brown, who allegedly stabbed a woman to death on a Charlotte commuter train last summer.
On the Republican side, Michael Whatley, who was endorsed by Pres. Donald Trump, faces a growing challenge from Navy veteran Don Brown.
A former chair of the Republican National Committee, Whatley has been the subject of controversy since he skirted the rules to obtain support for his senate run while still chairman of the state Republican party.
Brown has visited every county in the state, some numerous times, and fought COVID-19 mask mandates. Other candidates running for the Republican nomination for Senate include Elizabeth Temple, Thomas Johnson and Michelle Morrow.
While Margot Dupre will appear on the ballot, votes cast for her will not county, due to her being ineligible to run due to residency. At the time of her filing, the State Board of Elections determined that Dupre’s camper was not permanently set up and her “nomadic lifestyle” disqualified her from running. Dupre was using the camper to travel between campaign events across the state. Dupre also has a conventional home in Florida and is a licensed real estate broker there. Dupre had moved to a home in North Carolina before the SBOE hearing.
