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Candidate Filing Period Comes to an End, Primary Elections May 8; See Who Is Running Here

Watauga County Board of Elections Director Matthew Snyder holds up the final list of candidates as filing came to a close at 12 noon on Wednesday

By Luke Weir

The candidate filing period has ended as of February 28, 2018 at noon, and all names are final for this year’s primary elections in North Carolina, according to the Watauga County Board of Elections.

Statewide primary elections on May 8 will be voters’ first opportunity to cast their ballots and decide party candidates for the general election on Nov. 6.

In Watauga County, the democratic primary ballot will feature one race, while the republican primary ballot will include candidates for five different offices.

The Democratic Party’s primary ballot will include only one race: a vote between Jenny Marshall and DD Adams for candidacy as U.S. House Representative in the fifth district.

On the republican ballot are three candidates for U.S. House Representative: the incumbent Virginia Foxx, Dillon Gentry and Cortland Meader.

At the state level in the republican primaries, there will be a vote for both North Carolina House district 93 and Senate district 45. In the senate, Shirley Blackburn Randleman is running against the incumbent Deanna Ballard. For the state House of Representatives, Robert Block is running against the incumbent Jonathan Jordan.

At the local level of government, Tommy Sofield and Allen Trivette will be on the republicans’ primary ballot for Watauga County Board of Commissioners district 5.

In the race for Watauga County Sheriff, David Searcy and Tim Holman will also appear on the republican primary ballot.

If necessary, secondary primaries will be held in either June or July, depending on whether the additional ballot involves the race for United States House of Representatives. Candidates who receive the most votes in the primary elections will move on to the November general election ballot.

Some candidates have already been decided and will be voted on in November, as follows:

The race for Watauga County Clerk of Superior Court will be decided in November between incumbent democrat Diane Deal and republican Travis Critcher.

Only the incumbent republican Seth Banks filed for District Attorney, so he will be listed unopposed on the November general election ballot.

For Watauga County Board of Commissioners, incumbent democrat Billy Kennedy will face republican Tim Hodges in the November general election for district 3.

In district 4, incumbent democrat Larry Turnbow will defend his seat at the county board of commissioners against republican David Blust in November.

Charlie Wallin is the democratic candidate for district 5 of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners, running in November against the victor of the republican primary.

Len Hagaman, incumbent sheriff of Watauga County, will be the democratic candidate in November against the winner of the republican primary vote.

By default at the state level, Brandon Anderson will represent the democrats for North Carolina State Senate against whichever candidate wins the republican primary, while Ray Russell is the democrats’ default candidate in the race for North Carolina House of Representatives.

Last but not least, Steve Combs and Danny Watts are running against incumbent Watauga County Board of Education members Jay Fenwick, Gary Childers and Jason Cornett, who have all filed for re-election in November.

The voter registration deadline for primary elections is April 13 at 5 p.m., and early primary voting is April 19 to May 5.

According to the Watauga County Board of Elections, voters may register at the board of elections office in the Watauga County Courthouse, or at the public library, driver’s license office, public assistance agencies, agencies serving persons with disabilities, public high schools and various town halls.

Watauga County Board of Elections Director Matthew Snyder told High Country Press that early voting sites had not yet been decided, but all precincts will be open on primary election day May 8.

Additionally, Snyder said sample ballots will not be available until sometime in late March. In lieu of the official sample ballots, below is a tentative list of primary races:

 

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES:

U.S. House of Representatives (District 05):
Democratic Primary:
– DD Adams
– Jenny Marshall

 

REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES:

U.S. House of Representatives (District 05):
– Virginia Foxx (Incumbent)
– Dillon Gentry
– Cortland Meader

N.C. State Senate (District 45):
– Deanna Ballard (Incumbent)
– Shirley Blackburn Randleman

N.C. House of Representatives (District 093):
– Jonathan Jordan (Incumbent)
– Robert Block

Watauga County Board of Commissioners (District 5):
– Tommy Sofield
– Allen Trivette

Watauga County Sheriff:
– David Searcy
– Tim Holman

 

Finally, below is a complete list of those running for public office in 2018, sorted by position. The letter “R” denotes republicans, while “D” denotes democrats.

Federal Government:

U.S. House of Representatives (District 05):
– Virginia Foxx, R (Incumbent)
– Dillon Gentry, R
– Cortland Meader, R
– DD Adams, D
– Jenny Marshall, D

State Government:

N.C. State Senate (District 45):
– Deanna Ballard, R (Incumbent)
– Shirley Blackburn Randleman, R
– Brandon Anderson, D

N.C. House of Representatives (District 093):
– Jonathan Jordan, R (Incumbent)
– Robert Block, R
– Ray Russell, D

Municipal Government:

Watauga County Board of Commissioners (Districts 3, 4 and 5 up for election):

District 3:
– Billy Kennedy, D (Incumbent)
– Tim Hodges, R

District 4:
– Larry Turnbow, D (Incumbent)
– David Blust, R

District 5:
– Tommy Sofield, R
– Allen Trivette, R
– Charlie Wallin, D

District Attorney (District 35):
– Seth Banks (Incumbent)

Watauga County Clerk of Superior Court:
– Diane Cornett Deal, D (Incumbent)
– Travis Critcher, R

Watauga County Sheriff:
– Len Hagaman, D (Incumbent)
– David Searcy, R
– Tim Holman, R

Watauga County Board of Education (nonpartisan):
– Jason Cornett (Incumbent)
– Gary Childers (Incumbent)
– Jay Fenwick (Incumbent)
– Steve Combs
– Danny Watts