Dec. 2, 2016. With approval of the full Republican conference, the House Republican Steering Committee has selected Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., as the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in the 115th Congress.
Nov. 21, 2016. Updated: The gubernatorial race between incumbent N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory and current N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper is so close, that in this case, every vote does matter. Out of more than 4.5 million votes, Cooper came out ahead in the unofficial count at the end of Election Day by just about 5,000 votes. Compiled by Jesse Wood
Nov. 14, 2016. Elections are much more complicated than just which candidate received the most votes, though that count does determine who claims victory. Voters may be individuals, but often tend to behave in blocs that can help in understanding their behavior in an election. During the 2016 presidential race in North Carolina, different candidates’ messages resonated with people who shared different things in common – party affiliation and ideological identity, religious and cultural values, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender and sexual identity, or educational level. By Frank Taylor / Carolina Public Press
Nov. 8, 2016. Republicans N.C. Rep. Jonathan Jordan and Sen. Deanna Ballard won their respective races for N.C. House District 93 and N.C. Senate District 45. Jordan defeated Sue Counts, former director of the Watauga County Cooperate Extension, for the second election in a row, while Ballard defeated Art Sherwood of Caldwell County. By Jesse Wood
Nov. 8, 2016. Constituents in the Fifth Congressional District voted Virginia Foxx into in the U.S. House of Representatives for a seventh-consecutive term. Foxx won decisively with about 58 percent of the vote, according to unofficial election results, where all but a few remaining precincts had yet to report around midnight on Tuesday. By Jesse Wood
Nov. 8, 2016. While four members with plenty of school board experience were running for a seat on the Watauga County Board of Elections, only three seats were up for re-election. Brenda Reese, Ron Henries and Barbara Kinsey will serve another term on the Watauga County Board of Education. All three have strong backgrounds in education, and all three received at least 25 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial election results on Tuesday. By Jesse Wood
Nov. 8, 2016. Democrats regained control of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners, according to unofficial election results tallied on Tuesday evening. Incumbents John Welch, a Democrat, and Perry Yates, a Republican, will remain on the Watauga County Board of Commissioners, while fellow incumbent Republican David Blust got the boot. By Jesse Wood
Nov. 8, 2016. Throughout this election cycle, Watauga County has made the national news because it’s considered a bellwether county. Here are just a few related stories to peruse until the polls close and votes are counted. Inside are excerpts and links to the full postings. Compiled By Jesse Wood
Nov. 8, 2016. As of 10 a.m., more than 3,000 people voted so far on Election Day, according to the Watauga County Board of Elections. Since the polls opened at 6:30 a.m., 3,181 voted. See Tuesday’s voting totals per precinct inside. During the early-voting portion of the 2016 general election, nearly 20,000 people voted early. By Jesse Wood
Nov. 7, 2016. After a voting machine malfunctioned in one of the six early voting sites in Watauga County, the Watauga County Board of Elections conducted a re-processing of more than 9,000 ballots on Sunday afternoon. “It went great just as we had hoped,” Watauga County Elections Director Matt Snyder said on Monday. “We ended up with the same number of ballot counts.” By Jesse Wood • Photos by Ken Ketchie
Nov. 1, 2016. The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored a “Meet the Candidates” forum in late October in an effort to inform voters about local issues and the candidates that are running for office. Most of the candidates for U.S. House District 5, N.C. 24th Judicial District, Watauga County Board of Education, Watauga County Board of Commissioners, N.C. Governor, N.C. Senate District 45 and N.C. House District 93 attended. Below are videos of the round-robin Q-&-A session and the candidate’s closing statements. See full comments from candidates, including closing statements, per race inside.
Nov. 4, 2016. Governor Pat McCrory was presented with the Good Samaritan Award tonight by Franklin Graham to recognize his efforts to help North Carolinians during the response and recovery from Hurricane Matthew. Tonight, Samaritan’s Purse committed to building 20 homes for North Carolinians whose homes were destroyed by flooding.
Nov. 3, 2016. The Watauga County Board of Elections will hold a special meeting on Sunday, November 6, 2016 at 12:00 noon in the Board of Elections Office on the ground floor of the Watauga County Courthouse, according to a notice published on Thursday afternoon. The purpose of this meeting is to re-process the One-Stop Administration Site ballots, as directed by the State Board of Elections.
Nov. 3, 2016. The Harvest House hosted Republican candidates, N.C. Sen. Deanna Ballard and N.C. Rep. Jonathan Jordan, on Wednesday evening. The event was co-sponsored by the N.C. Homeowners Alliance and the High Country Association of Realtors. By Jesse Wood • Photos by Ken Ketchie
Nov. 3, 2016. Josh Teague, a candidate for District Court Judge, held a meet-and-greet event at the Fairview Café, located at the Boone Golf Club, on Wednesday. The event was sponsored by Tom Speed and hosted by Richard Pedroni, Tina Houston, Andi and Rob Gelsthorpe, and Elizabeth Hempfling. By Jesse Wood • Photos by Ken Ketchie
Nov. 2, 2016. Carolina Public Press has taken a look at the most recent wave of campaign filings for the four federal races affecting Western North Carolina and analyzed the amount of money raised and who its coming from.
Watauga County Voters by Party
State Voters by Party
Nov. 2, 2016. As of Tuesday closing, more than 13,000 voters have early voted in the general election in Watauga County. Of the six early voting sites, the two sites located in Boone – the Watauga County Administration Building on King Street and the Plemmons Student Union on the campus of App State – are dominating in terms of the number of people casting ballots. By Jesse Wood
Nov. 1, 2016. The survey conducted Oct. 23-27 is the final survey by the Elon University Poll before Election Day on Nov. 8. The contests at the top of the ballot have tightened in North Carolina, with the races for president and governor now too close to call and incumbent Republican Richard Burr holding a lead within the margin of error in the U.S. Senate race, according to the results of the latest Elon University Poll.
WATAUGA COUNTY 
Oct. 28, 2016. So far, 7,301 people have voted early as of the closing of polls on Thursday evening, according to figures provided by the Watauga County Board of Elections office. While early voting began on Oct. 20 at the Watauga County Administration Building on King Street, five other one-stop sites opened on Thursday for the remainder of early voting, which concludes on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. By Jesse Wood
Oct. 28, 2016. Continuing with his release of position papers on the need to restore real North Carolina values to the North Carolina General Assembly, Art Sherwood, the Democratic candidate for N.C. Senate District 45, today issued a video and paper titled, “Real North Carolina Values: Integrity.” The first installment on North Carolina values focused on civility. Sherwood said, “Only 19 percent of Americans trust government, according to the Pew Research Center. Why is that? North Carolina’s own Billy Graham has some insight that might help. He said, ‘When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.’”
Oct. 27, 2016. Chelsea Clinton spoke at Legends on the campus of Appalachian State University. Doors closed after 550 people turned out to hear Clinton tell voters why they should vote for her mother, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate. Photos by Ken Ketchie
Oct. 27, 2016. Today early voting extends to five other one-stop sites in Watauga County. For the first week of early voting, the only one-stop site open was located at the Watauga County Administration Building on King Street. Now, all six locations are open through the remainder of early voting. By Jesse Wood
Oct. 26, 2016. On Thursday, Oct. 27, Chelsea Clinton will campaign at Appalachian State University in Boone. During an early vote rally, Clinton will lay out what is at stake in this election and urge North Carolinians to early vote to support the Clinton-Kaine ticket. Clinton’s visit comes the same day that 132 additional early voting sites open up across North Carolina, including Appalachian State University’s Plemmons Student Union.
Oct. 25, 2016. High Country Press reached out to the candidates for Watauga County Board of Education. Here are statements from the four candidates: Steve Combs, Ron Henries, Barbara Kinsey and Brenda Reese. Three seats are up for election. Early voting has already started in the Watauga County Administration Building on King Street. Compiled by Jesse Wood
Oct. 25, 2016. High Country Press reached out to candidates for Watauga County Board of Commissioners. Since candidates are running for particular districts, there are three races pertaining to the commission: Perry Yates (R) v. Diane Blanks (D) for District 1; Elizabeth Shukis (R) v. John Welch (D) for District 2; and David Blust (R) v. Larry Turnbow (D) for District 4. Compiled by Jesse Wood