Primary Election 2020 coverage

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT S TAFF WRITER L ast fall, few people expected to be devoting so much time, energy and money to two Primary Election races in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.

But then on Dec. 19 popular four-term Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, RAsheville, stunned much of the country by announcing he wouldn’t seek re-election just hours after an impassioned defense of President Donald Trump on the House floor during Trump’s impeachment proceedings.

Meadows’ announcement set off a scramble for Republican and Democratic candidates, who were given next to no time to contemplate running and filing for the seat thought to be safely in Meadows’ control despite a gerrymandering ruling that halved GOP advantage in the district. DEMOCRATS SELECT A NEWCOMER

The five-way Democratic primary featured two familiar faces — Phillip Price, and Steve Woodsmall, both of whom ran in 2018. Price took that nomination but lost to Meadows by 20 points.

Price and Woodsmall were joined by Mills River native Michael O’Shea and Asheville resident Moe Davis.

Davis, a retired Air Force colonel, held a commanding lead over all of the other candidates when early voting results were released, and never really looked back.

“The argument I’ve made all along is that I have the record, the reach and resources to compete in November,” said Davis. “Folks did their due diligence and came to same conclusion. The bottom line is, we’ve got to win this seat, and this is our best shot at winning.” With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Davis had more than 47 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a runoff. He credits teamwork and a lot of volunteers for the victory. “Tonight is actually the 15-week point from when we first started, and everyone else had a significant time advantage. We had 4,452 individual contributions and that

that enabled us to do advertising, and things the other candidates weren’t able to do, which helped us overcome their advantage of time.”

Davis said it was now time to take a breather and then buckle down for the eightmonth campaign leading up to the General Election against whomever the Republicans choose as their nominee. Davis says there’s no one in particular he’s looking to face.

“Not really. I’ve had the opportunity at forums over the past few months to have seen all 11 Republicans,” Davis said. “The first sentence out of everyone’s mouth is ‘I’m a loyal supporter of Trump and his policies.’ They are all carbon copies of each other.”

11TH CONGRESS GOP

Haywood Jackson Macon Swain Total Lynda Bennett 2,132 775 1,269 208 20,279 Madison Cawthorn 1,094 336 423 68 18,110 Jim Davis 1,932 1,197 2,996 406 17,081 Dan Driscoll 735 282 402 104 7,662 Wayne King 210 110 99 30 7,776 • 298 of 304 precincts reporting • six other candidates also were on the ballot

Democratic

Haywood Jackson Macon Swain Total Moe Davis 4,053 2,419 1,634 576 52,388 Gina Collias 1,533 1,130 603 326 25,024 Phillip Price 1,042 917 493 190 12,453 Michael O’Shea 727 570 245 119 12,351 Steve Woodsmall 613 470 357 107 8,307 • 298 of 304 precincts reporting

REPUBLICANS RESPOND Haywood County Republican Lynda Bennett’s been under fire since her campaign began — for the way it began and for the sham endorsement she received from a two-day-old “conservative ballot committee,” but voters didn’t seem to mind that at all; Bennett led a large field of Republicans with 22.73 percent of the vote.

Coming in a close second was 24-year-old Madison Cawthorn, a Henderson County Republican who’s emerged as the surprise star of the Republican field. Cawthorn garnered just enough votes to slip past Sen. Jim Davis, long considered a frontrunner in the race. At 20.43 percent, Cawthorn appears to be headed to a runoff because it didn’t meet the 30 percent threshold.

Jim Davis came in with 19.25 percent of the vote, about 1,100 behind Cawthorn. He was trailed by Buncombe County businessman Chuck Archerd, and former Meadows advisor Wayne King.

The General Election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Wingate wins GOP judicial primary

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT S TAFF WRITER O nce Judge Richard K. Walker announced he wouldn’t seek re-election, four Republicans from three of the seven counties in the 30th Judicial District jumped into the race.

Two of them are from Haywood County, the district’s largest county, giving them an advantage population-wise, so the results of the race shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

Attorney Mitch Brewer — from Clay County, the smallest county in the race — finished fourth. Rich Cassady, an attorney from Macon County, finished third.

Both were far behind Jim Moore, an attorney from Haywood County who finished in second, but voters chose the youngest, least experienced candidate to proceed on to the General Election in November.

Kaleb Wingate was able to avoid a runoff and defeat his opponents with nearly 39.6 percent of the vote and cited the quality — not quantity — of his experience as well as his character as reasons for victory.

“I think integrity is a very important thing when it comes to judicial election, being true to who you are as a person and your political affiliation,” said Wingate. “I think being born and raised in WNC had a tremendous impact on this election and I’m so very grateful to have this support 30TH JUDICIAL GOP Cherokee Clay Graham Haywood Jackson Macon Swain Total Jim Moore 1,646 502 698 2,264 1,376 1,572 417 8,189 Kaleb Wingate 1,333 307 446 4,022 1.090 1,901 315 9,700 Mitchell Brewer 913 403 100 43 285 364 98 2,606 Rich Cassady 983 361 75 349 332 1,438 124 3,662

from our seven counties. I will always remember how I got to this position.”

Candidates had engaged in some digs at each other — some veiled and some not — but in the end Wingate thinks it was a professional campaign all around.

“Overall, it was a very clean campaign. All my opponents are passionate and hard working, and it was about as clean a race we could have with all the energy we have for our positions and values. I have a lot of respect for them and I look forward to working with them for the rest of my legal career.”

Wingate will now look forward to facing a Democrat, Bryson City attorney Justin Greene, in November.

“I think my experience as a prosecutor sets me apart from Mr. Green. I have my fair share of experience in court, trying hundreds if not thousands of cases,” Wingate said. “You have so much responsibility as an assistant district attorney, and it’s important to have that experience on the bench. I have nothing bad to say about Mr. Green, but I think my experience will set me apart.”

BY HOLLY KAYS S TAFF WRITER S usan Bogardus has won the Democratic primary in the race to represent Jackson County’s District 3 on the Board of Commissioners. Pulling

Clampitt.

Like the Republican commissioner she hopes to replace — and unlike both of her Primary Election opponents — Bogardus is not originally from Jackson County. A self-described “Air Force brat,” she moved all over the country while growing up but calls Jackson County home after 13 years of living there. She is a registered dietitian with a doctorate in nutrition science, currently working as a dietician at the Cherokee Indian Hospital. While she has never held elected office before, Bogardus has been active in the Jackson County Democratic Party since moving to the area in 2007, serving as both a precinct chair and assistant chair.

Republicans stick with incumbents in Haywood

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT S TAFF WRITER W hen Canton businessman Brandon Rogers led the county commission ticket in 2016, he helped narrow the Democratic majority from 4-to-1 to 3-to-2.

HAYWOOD COMMISSIONERS (vote for two) Jennifer Best 3,052 L. Kevin Ensley 3,169 Terry Ramey 1,656 Brandon Rogers 4,972

Then, in 2018, he and Chairman Kevin Ensley were joined by two more Republicans, Tommy Long and Mark Pless, bringing a Republican majority to the commission for the first time ever.

“I ran because of who I am and what I stand for more than me being a politician,” Rogers said. “I’m no politician by any means. I’m trying to do what’s best for Haywood County and that’s what I’m always going to do.”

This year, both Rogers and Ensley were up for re-election, and were faced with two Republican challengers. The race was largely seen as a referendum on how satisfied Republican voters were with that Republican-led commission. Voters responded by returning both Ensley and Rogers to the General Election in November.

“I feel like folks appreciate the direction we’re headed in and being fiscally responsible with taxpayer money,” Rogers said. “With our finances looking the way they do, with our debt continuing to drop and our fund balance growing, I think voters know we’re going in the right direction.” Rogers and Ensley will now face Democrats Leah Hampton and David Young in November.

“I would say we’re going to continue on the path that we’ve been on by dropping the debt. We’re going to continue our conservative, commonsense approach,” Rogers said. “We’ve got a hefty fund balance, so I’d like to see us put some of that money back in taxpayers’ pockets in the form of a tax cut, if we can.”

Rogers said that he’d now return to focusing on county business, but he knows that he’ll have to get back out there and talk to voters across the county, and across party lines.

“What I’ll probably do is take a few months off and relax, and then after summer’s over I’ll hit the trail again and get our message out there,” he said. “It seems most people are happy with it.”

Rogers again led the Republican ticket with 38.7 percent of the vote, with Ensley coming in at 24.66 percent. Challenger Jennifer Best was less than a percentage point behind Ensley — 117 votes out of more than 3,100 — but as long as nothing changes, that won’t be enough to get Best to the next level.

Susan Bogardus

42.02 percent of the vote, she beat out opponents Cody Lewis and Brad Stillwell — who received 34.76 and 23.21 percent, respectively — for the chance to face Republican Tom Stribling in November.

Cooper will return to school board

Elizabeth Cooper reeled in a decisive win in her bid for re-election to her seat on the Jackson County Board of Education, taking 66.49 percent of the vote against challenger Shane Danner.

JACKSON COMMISSIONERS

Democrat District 3 Susan Bogardus 2,263 T. Cody Lewis 1,872 Brad Stilwell 1,250

“I really want to do this, and the people that know me and came out to vote for me, they know the person I am,” said Bogardus. “You win races because you have relationships with people and they trust you. I think that there are many people in this county who know me and trust me.” She said that while she wasn’t surprised about the outcome of this Primary Election, she expects stiff competition heading into the General Election. However, she said she looks forward to the challenge and hopes to ultimately win a seat on the board.

In a pre-election interview, Bogardus said that her top three priorities, should she be elected, would be to boost affordable housing opportunities for working people, support local businesses so that they can pay employees living wages and improve infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

With no incumbent in place, the General Election will be anybody’s race. The seat is currently held by Republican Commissioner Ron Mau, who vacated it for a chance at the N.C. House District 119 seat. However, Mau lost his bid for state office in the Primary Election contest against Bryson City Republican Mike

Elizabeth Cooper

Cooper — who as the District 1 representative represents Sylva-South Ward, Dillsboro, Barkers Creek and Qualla — was appointed to the board by majority vote in 2010, when she filled the unexpired term of Mark Brooks. She won reelection in May 2012 and was then elected for a two-year term as vice-chair beginning July 2018.

Incumbent Wesley Jamison had an uncontested primary and will also return to the board for another term following the election results.

Unlike the other races on the Primary Election ballot, the final outcome of the non-partisan school board race was decided by today’s votes. Elections for the five-member board are staggered, with elections held at the time of the spring primary in even-numbered years.

BY JESSI STONE N EWS EDITOR Democratic candidates Roger Parsons and Phil Carson will move on to the November election after being the top two vote-getters in the Swain County commissioner race.

Parsons was the top vote-getter with 42 percent of the vote while Carson was close behind with 33 percent of the vote. The third candidate in the Democratic primary —

Mitchell Jenkins — received 24 percent of the vote.

Carson and Parsons will now move on to face Republicans Kenneth Parton and H. Robert Lowe in the November election and then the top two vote-getters regardless of party affiliation will win the two open seats. Kenneth Parton is currently finishing his first term as commissioner while Lowe is a newcomer to Swain politics.

Carson, 57, is a Swain County native and a licensed plumber who has also spent 34 years as a rescue squad member and paramedic. He served one term as a county commissioner and two terms as the commission chairman. He ran for a third term as chairman in 2018 but lost to fellow Democratic commissioner Ben Bushyhead during the primary. With only 18 percent of voters casting a ballot in the primary, Bushyhead received 59 percent to Carson’s 41 percent.

Parsons was appointed to fill the unexpired term for Commissioner David Monteith, who passed away in early 2017 — not long after being elected to another four-year term on the board. Parsons then had to run in 2018 to keep the seat for another two years. He won the seat with 57 percent of the vote and is now running for a four-year term.

Parsons, 64, grew up in Swain County and had a long career working for UPS. He also served on the Swain County School Board for 16 years before becoming a county commissioner.

Jenkins — a former Swain County maintenance director — first ran as a write-in candidate during the 2018 election for Swain County commission chairman against Bushyhead but only garnered 800 votes.

During the 2016 Primary Election, Swain County’s voter turnout was at 30 percent, which is about 3,075 out of 10,121 registered voters. For the 2020 Primary, voter turnout in the county dipped to 27 percent — or 2,594 out of 9,526 registered voters.

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT S TAFF WRITER R epublican voters in seven western counties have again decided that a candidate from Franklin, in Macon County, should be their voice in the N.C. Senate.

GOP NC SENATE DISTRICT 50 Sarah Conway 4,294 Kevin Corbin 16,191 (62 of 91 precincts)

“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” said Rep. Kevin Corbin. “I’ve worked very hard in the House for my district. What I tried to do is convince people that I’d do the same for the larger Senate district, and I will. People gave me that vote of confidence, and I plan to follow through.”

Corbin first announced his intention to seek the seat during an event at the Macon County Republican Party headquarters in Franklin — the same event where longtime senator and former Macon County

Commissioner Jim Davis announced he would return to private life after two decades of public service. Davis later returned to campaigning when Congressman Mark Meadows, RAsheville, announced this past December that he wouldn’t seek reelection to his seat (see CONGRESS, page 6).

The 50th Senate District contains the seven westernmost counties in North Carolina — Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain. With 57 percent of precincts reporting, Corbin Kevin Corbin

had more than 79 percent of the vote.

Corbin will face Canton Democrat Alan Jones in November, and has a solid plan to convince voters to send him to Raleigh.

“I think I can point to my effectiveness in the House,” Corbin said. “Even my freshman year, we got a lot done for the district and we’ll do the same in the Senate. My number one goal is good constituent service, so when people have problems with the DOT or Department of Revenue, I keep up with those. We have about a 95 percent success rate at solving problems people have. That’s what I plan to run on and I don’t plan to change that work ethic.”

Corbin’s opponent, Sarah Conway, trailed him by more than 10,000 votes but ran a good race, said Corbin.

“She’s a fine person, very smart, lots of good ideas, and we wound up at the same precinct in Maggie Valley today,” Corbin said. “She said win, lose or draw, we should have lunch and talk over some ideas and we plan to do that. I think she has a future in the Republican Party and I will encourage her to stay involved.”

Wallace, Young will fight for Macon in November

BY JESSI STONE N EWS EDITOR A s the top vote-getters from each party, Democrat Betty Cloer Wallace and Republican Josh Young will battle it out for a District 2 Macon County Commissioner seat in the November election.

MACON COMMISSIONERS Democratic District 2 (vote for one) Betty Cloer Wallace 1,768 Olga Lampkin 1,409

GOP District 2 (vote for one) Bryan Rauers 1,850 Josh Young 2,482 Terry Bradley 1,239

Wallace, who had an unsuccessful run for commissioner in 2018, received about 56 percent of the vote compared to her challenger, Democrat Olga Lampkin, who received 44 percent.

Wallace, 76, grew up in Franklin and had an extensive career in public education before retiring, including Associate Superintendent of Macon County Schools and Assistant State Superintendent of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. She also served two terms as secretary of the N.C. Democratic Party.

“I’m thrilled with the results of all our local races, especially the large turnout countywide. I think we’re ready for a new day in Macon County,” Wallace said after seeing the results Tuesday night.

Young received about 45 percent of the vote while his challengers — Bryan Rauers and Terry Bradley — received 33 and 22

Josh Young

percent of the vote, respectively. Young, also a Macon County native, worked for Duke Energy for eight years before he started his own business — Young Tree Service in 2015. While he’s active in the community, this is the first time he’s sought an elected office.

Contacted right as the final results were rolling in, Young said he was still in shock that he’d be moving ahead to the General Election.

“I’m humbled and I’d be honored to be able to serve the people of Macon County,” Young said. “I really want to thank all my supporters.”

Wallace and Young will move on to the

Betty Cloer Wallace

November election in hopes of grabbing up the open District 2 seat left vacant by Republican Karl Gillespie, who decided to run for a Senate seat following his first term as a county commissioner.

The other seat up for election this year is a District 3 seat occupied by Republican Commissioner Paul Higdon, but he will have no challengers in the general election.

In the 2016 primary, Macon County’s voter turnout was 40 percent with 9,825 out of 24,554 registered voters casting a ballot. However, Macon County saw a dip down to 37 percent voter turnout in 2020 with 9,583 out of 25,702 registered voters casting a ballot.

Clampitt takes nomination in 119th District

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT S TAFF WRITER I t looks like one of North Carolina’s longest-running political feuds will go another round. “I’m so pleased and thankful to God to be the official nominee for the 119th District,’” said Bryson City Republican Mike Clampitt. “Now it’s time to start the ‘Say it ain’t so Joe,’ campaign. Or, a better one might be the ‘Joe’s got to go’ campaign.”

GOP HOUSE DISTRICT 119 Mike Clampitt 4,077 Ron Mau 2,593

Nov. 3 will be the fifth time Clampitt faces incumbent Democratic Rep. Joe Sam Queen, of Waynesville. Queen won in 2012 and 2014 but lost in 2016 and then reclaimed the seat from Clampitt in 2018.

With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Clampitt scored a decisive victory over Jackson County Commissioner Ron Mau. Clampitt earned more than 61 percent of the vote and will thus avoid a runoff. “Well, I did spend two years in the House as the elected representative and had a working knowledge of that, and I got out and worked in the public and talked to people individually,” said Clampitt of why he prevailed in the March 3 primary. “Probably the other important factor is being a native of WNC. People recognized that and wanted a local to represent them.”

North Carolinians decide state and federal offices

BY HOLLY KAYS S TAFF WRITER From president to state auditor, the March 3 Primary Election was full of an almost overwhelming slate of federal and state offices. Here’s how North Carolinians had voted in these state and federal races as of press time 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, with 82 percent of precincts reporting: • Joe Biden had a decisive win, pulling 41.39 percent of the vote against second-place Bernie Sanders, with 23.86 percent. • President Donald Trump received 93.85 percent of the roughly 700,000 votes cast in the Republican primary. • Democrat Cal Cunningham won 57.06 percent of the vote in the Democratic race for U.S. Senate. He will face incumbent Thom Tillis in November — Tillis received 78.4 percent of the vote. • Gov. Roy Cooper received 87.2 percent of the vote on the Democratic ticket and will face Republican Dan Forest in November after Forest pulled 89.18 percent of the vote against challenger Holly Grange. • Yvonne Lewis Holley was the top vote-getter in the Democratic race for lieutenant governor with 26.03 percent of the vote, but Buncombe County state senator Terry Van Duyn received more than 20 percent of the vote and will be able to call for a runoff primary since Holley got less than 30 percent of the vote. The eventual winner will face Republican Mark Robinson, who received 32.91 percent of the vote. • Jim O’Neill won the Republican nomination for N.C. Attorney General with 47.4 percent of the vote. • Incumbent N.C. Auditor Beth Wood will face Republican Tony Street in November. • Jenna Wadsworth won 53.57 percent of the vote in the Democratic race for N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture. • Mike Causey received 64.32 percent of the vote in the

Republican primary for N.C. Commissioner of Insurance. • Josh Dobson won against two opponents in the Republican race for N.C. Commissioner of Labor with 40.47 percent of the vote. • E.C. Sykes will be the Republican candidate for N.C.

Secretary of State after winning 42.22 percent of the vote against two opponents. • Democrat Jen Mangrum and Republican Catherine Truitt will face off in November in the race for N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction after winning their respective primaries. • The Democratic race for N.C. Treasurer was tight between the three contenders. As of press time, Ronnie Chatterji had a narrow lead with 34.8 percent of the vote, followed by Dimple Ajmera with 34.34 percent and Matt Leatherman with 30.86 percent. March 4-10, 2020