By Nathan Ham
Bernie Sanders was the most popular presidential candidate in Watauga County, earning 46.9 percent of the votes (4,516 votes) well ahead of second-place Joe Biden at 23.22 percent (2,236 votes).
President Donald Trump received 3,576 votes, which was 91.76 percent of the Republican votes counted in the presidential primary.
Thom Tillis and Cal Cunningham won their respective U.S. Senate primary races. Tillis is the incumbent and he received 76.81 percent of the Republican vote while Cunningham was the top among four Democratic challengers with 5,626 votes, which was 64.35 percent of the votes.
In the one local contested primary race on any of the ballots, North Carolina House of Representative Ray Russell earned 87.19 percent of the votes (4,533) to secure the Democratic nomination of challenger Turner Doolittle who got 12.81 percent of the votes (1,117).
Overall, Watauga had 13,654 total voters cast their ballots, which is 29.98 percent of the registered voters in the county.
Watauga County Unofficial Vote Totals
Democratic Party Presidential Primary
Bernie Sanders – 4,516 (46.90 percent)
Joseph R. Biden – 2,236 (23.22 percent)
Elizabeth Warren – 1,303 (13.53 percent)
Michael R. Bloomberg – 704 (7.31 percent)
Pete Buttigieg – 469 (4.87 percent)
Amy Klobuchar – 240 (2.49 percent)
Tom Steyer – 48 (0.50 percent)
Tulsi Gabbard – 37 (0.38 percent)
No preference – 26 (0.27 percent)
Andrew Yang – 24 (0.25 percent)
Cory Booker – 8 (0.08 percent)
Deval Patrick – 7 (0.07 percent)
Marianne Williamson – 4 (0.04 percent)
Michael Bennet – 3 (0.03 percent)
John K. Delaney – 2 (0.02 percent)
Julian Castro – 1 (0.01 percent)
Constitution Party Presidential Primary
Don Blankenship – 1 (50 percent)
No preference – 1 (50 percent)
Charles Kraut – 0 (0 percent)
Green Party Presidential Primary
Howie Hawkins – 2 (50 percent)
No preference – 2 (50 percent)
Libertarian Party Presidential Primary
No preference – 18 (29.03 percent)
Vermin Supreme – 9 (14.52 percent)
John McAfee – 7 (11.29 percent)
Kim Ruff – 6 (9.68 percent)
Ken Armstrong – 5 (8.06 percent)
Jacob Hornberger – 4 (6.45 percent)
Dan Behrman – 3 (4.84 percent)
Jo Jorgensen – 3 (4.84 percent)
Steve Richey – 2 (3.23 percent)
Souraya Faas – 2 (3.23 percent)
James Orlando Ogle – 1 (1.61 percent)
Kenneth Blevins – 1 (1.61 percent)
Jedidiah Hill – 1 (1.61 percent)
Arvin Vohra – 0 (0 percent)
Max Abramson – 0 (0 percent)
Erik Gerhardt – 0 (0 percent)
Adam Kokesh – 0 (0 percent)
Republican Party Presidential Primary
Donald J. Trump – 3,576 (91.76 percent)
Bill Weld – 122 (3.13 percent)
Joe Walsh – 101 (2.59 percent)
No preference – 98 (2.51 percent)
Democratic Party U.S. Senate Primary
Cal Cunningham – 5,626 (64.35 percent)
Erica D. Smith – 2,379 (27.21 percent)
Trevor M. Fuller – 310 (3.55 percent)
Atul Goel – 250 (2.86 percent)
Steve Swenson – 178 (2.04 percent)
Republican Party U.S. Senate Primary
Thom Tillis – 2,892 (76.81 percent)
Paul Wright – 343 (9.11 percent)
Larry Holmquist – 272 (7.22 percent)
Sharon Y. Hudson – 258 (6.85 percent)
Democratic Party U.S. House of Representatives District 5 Primary
David Wilson Brown – 5,613 (73.06 percent)
Eric Nathan Hughes – 2,070 (26.94 percent)
Democratic Party N.C. Governor Primary
Roy Cooper – 8,126 (88.71 percent)
Ernest T. Reeves – 1,034 (11.29 percent)
Republican Party N.C. Governor Primary
Dan Forest – 3,420 (89.32 percent)
Holly Grange – 409 (10.68 percent)
Democratic Party Lieutenant Governor Primary
Bill Toole – 2,498 (32.50 percent)
Yvonne Lewis Holley – 2,246 (29.23 percent)
Terry Van Duyn – 1,010 (13.14 percent)
Allen Thomas – 818 (10.64 percent)
Chaz Beasley – 785 (10.21 percent)
Ron Newton – 328 (4.27 percent)
Republican Party Lieutenant Governor Primary
Mark Robinson – 1,262 (35.56 percent)
Andy Wells – 579 (16.31 percent)
John L. Ritter – 408 (11.50 percent)
Mark Johnson – 361 (10.17 percent)
Greg Gebhardt – 279 (7.86 percent)
Deborah Cochran – 223 (6.28 percent)
Scott Stone – 211 (5.95 percent)
Renee Ellmers – 145 (4.09 percent)
Buddy Bengel – 81 (2.28 percent)
Republican Party N.C. Attorney General Primary
Jim O’Neill – 1,660 (47.20 percent)
Sam Hayes – 1,106 (31.45 percent)
Christine Mumma – 751 (21.35 percent)
Democratic Party N.C. Auditor Primary
Beth A. Wood – 6,292 (81.96 percent)
Luis A. Toledo – 1,385 (18.04 percent)
Republican Party N.C. Auditor Primary
Anthony Wayne (Tony) Street – 1,882 (58.10 percent)
Tim Hoegemeyer – 1,357 (41.90 percent)
Democratic Party N.C. Commission of Agriculture Primary
Jenna Wadsworth – 5,870 (76.34 percent)
Walter Smith – 1,202 (15.63 percent)
Donovan Alexander Watson – 617 (8.02 percent)
Republican Party N.C. Commissioner of Insurance Primary
Mike Causey – 2,128 (65.74 percent)
Ronald Pierce – 1,109 (34.26 percent)
Republican Party N.C. Commissioner of Labor Primary
Josh Dobson – 1,676 (50.57 percent)
Chuck Stanley – 945 (28.52 percent)
Pearl Burris Floyd – 693 (20.91 percent)
Republican Party N.C. Secretary of State Primary
E.C. Sykes – 1,658 (49.80 percent)
Chad Brown – 1,123 (33.73 percent)
Michael LaPaglia – 548 (16.46 percent)
Democratic Party N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction Primary
Jen Mangrum – 4,459 (58.33 percent)
Constance (Lav) Johnson – 1,305 (17.07 percent)
Keith A. Sutton – 803 (10.50 percent)
James Barrett – 574 (7.51 percent)
Michael Maher – 503 (6.58 percent)
Republican Party N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction Primary
Catherine Truitt – 1,863 (55.68 percent)
Craig Horn – 1,483 (44.32 percent)
Democratic Party N.C. Treasurer Primary
Dimple Ajmera – 4,533 (60.18 percent)
Matt Leatherman – 1,557 (20.67 percent)
Ronnie Chatterji – 1,442 (19.14 percent)
Democratic Party N.C. House of Representatives District 93 Primary
Ray Russell – 7,606 (87.19 percent)
Turner Doolittle – 1,117 (12.81 percent)
Democratic Party Presidential Primary by Precinct (Top 4 Represented)
Bernie Sanders – A
Elizabeth Warren – B
Joe Biden – C
Michael Bloomberg – D
A B C D
Bald Mountain 15 9 28 6
Beaver Dam 32 4 35 7
Blowing Rock 80 27 182 39
Blue Ridge 126 44 195 37
Boone 1 160 39 84 7
Boone 2 272 38 44 9
Brushy Fork 214 54 136 11
Cove Creek 81 20 67 17
Elk 16 5 40 5
Laurel Creek 44 15 53 3
Meat Camp 97 30 102 17
Boone 3 141 23 42 4
New River 1 188 56 89 14
New River 2 191 47 140 20
New River 3 226 75 168 26
North Fork 5 2 4 3
Shawneehaw 38 2 41 9
Stony Fork 43 14 73 10
Watauga 106 42 150 31
Beech Mountain 24 7 29 9
One-Stop Admin 422 163 156 159
One-Stop ASU 1613 450 139 79
One-Stop Blowing Rock 79 22 61 62
One-Stop Deep Gap 46 17 44 25
One-Stop Meat Camp 45 20 30 19
One-Stop WWCC 60 29 37 33
One-Stop Foscoe 37 17 26 25
Absentee Mail 45 21 25 16
Transfer 71 6 17 2
Total 4516 1303 2236 704