MVA Monitor – Election Report

Results are in from the Congressional special elections and North Carolina municipal primary elections held Tuesday, September 11.

State Rep. Greg Murphy (R) decidedly secured North Carolina’s 3rd District Congressional seat, filling the vacancy of the late Rep. Walter Jones. In a much closer race, State Sen. Dan Bishop (R) edged out Dan McCready (D) in a hard-fought and expensive special election to represent the 9th District following a 2018 investigation into voter fraud.

At the local level, Charlotte City Council is beginning to take some shape as several council districts were decided in primary races. The council will have a new make up next year as three incumbents are stepping away from their districts. In Raleigh, city council races are nonpartisan so voters will wait until October to select their council.

The general election for municipal offices will be held Tuesday, November 5.

U.S. House of Representatives Special Elections

NC-3

State Rep. Greg Murphy (R) will be leaving the North Carolina House for the U.S. House. Murphy, a doctor from Greenville, handily won the race in the 3rd Congressional District. The Republican defeated Democrat Allen Thomas with 62% of the votes. The election was called to fill the vacancy created by the death of Rep. Walter Jones (R) earlier this year.

Republican doctor Greg Murphy wins Eastern North Carolina’s 3rd District (Raleigh News & Observer)

NC-9

State Sen. Dan Bishop (R) narrowly won election in the 9th Congressional District race. With almost all precincts reporting, Bishop leads the Democratic candidate, Dan McCready, by about 4,000 votes (about 2% of the vote). The hard-fought campaign was one of the most expensive special House elections in history and included over $20 million in television advertising. Voting irregularities in the district in the 2018 election led the State Board of Elections to call for the new election.

Republican Bishop beats Democrat McCready in tight NC District 9 race (Charlotte Observer)

Charlotte Mayor & City Council

The Mayor and At-Large incumbents clenched their primary nominations yesterday, but Charlotte City Council will have a few new faces around the dais next term as there are three open seat races in Districts 2, 3 and 4 this year. Four of the district races were decided in the primary since no Republicans filed to run in Districts 1, 3, and 5, and Democrats did not run a candidate in District 7.

Mayor

Mayor Vi Lyles won her race by a wide margin with 87% of the vote. If she wins the general election, Lyles would become the first Charlotte mayor to be re-elected since Anthony Foxx in 2011.

Lyles will face Republican David Michael Rice in the general election.

At-Large

Four Democratic incumbents fended off three challengers, including District 3 incumbent LaWana Mayfield. Braxton Winston (19%), James Mitchell (17%), Dimple Ajmera (16%), and Julie Eiselt (16%) all advance to the general election. Mayfield in her first run for an at-large seat gained the fifth-most votes, followed by Jorge Millares and Chad Stachowicz.

Only one Republican candidate, Joshua Richardson, will face the four incumbents vying to retain their At-Large seats.

District 1

First-term incumbent Larken Egleston (D) defended his seat with 73% of the vote and is headed to a second term.

Egleston will not face a general election opponent and is the presumed councilman-elect.

District 2

Former city councilman and state legislator Malcolm Graham (D) defeated to political newcomers in the Democratic primary. District 2 is an open seat as first-term incumbent, Dr. Justin Harlow (D), announced this summer that he would not seek re-election.

Graham will face Republican Jacob Richardson in the general election.

District 3

District 3 is an open seat for the first time since 2011 as incumbent LaWana Mayfield (D) sought an at At-Large seat. Victoria Watlington bested two other Democrats with 43% of the vote. Although she is a political newcomer, she serves on multiple city and community volunteer boards and commissions.

Watlington will not face a general election opponent and is the presumed first-term councilwoman-elect.

District 4

District 4 is also an open seat race following incumbent Grep Phipps’ (D) announcement earlier this year that he would not seek re-election. Renee Perkins Johnson (D) bested a large field of candidates, gaining 37% of the vote. She was able to avoid a runoff with the help of a policy enacted after 2017 elections which lowered the threshold from 40% to 30% of the vote required to secure the election.

Johnson will face Republican Brandon Pierce in the general election.

District 5

First-term incumbent Matt Newton (D) held off two challengers with 60% of the vote and is headed to a second term.

Newton will not face a general election opponent and is the presumed councilman-elect.

District 6

There was no primary election in the 6th District.

First-term incumbent Tariq Bokhari (R) will face political newcomer and co-president of the Charlotte Women’s March, Dr. Gina Navarrete (D), in the general election.

District 7

Victoria Nwasike (R), an attorney and member of the city’s planning and zoning commission, appeared as the first primary opponent incumbent Ed Driggs (R) has faced since his first-term election in 2013. He secured the nomination with 68% of the vote as he heads to a fourth term.

Driggs will not face a general election opponent and is the presumed councilman-elect.

Agenda Election Roundup: South Charlotte went all-in for Dan McCready, but Dan Bishop won the 9th District (Charlotte Agenda)

Charlotte Mayor, At-Large Incumbents Cruise To Victory In Primary (WFAE)


Here’s what the November general election ballot will look like

Mayor
Vi Lyles (D)* v. David Michael Rice (R) 

 

At-Large (4 seats)
Braxton Winston (D)*
James Mitchell (D)*
Dimple Ajmera (D)*
Julie Eiselt (D)*
Joshua Richardson (R)

District 1
Larken Egleston (D)* faces no Republican opponentDistrict 2
Malcolm Graham (D) v. Jacob Robinson (R)

District 3
Victoria Watlington (D) faces no Republican opponent

District 4
Renee Perkins Johnson (D) v. Brandon Pierce (R)

District 5
Matt Newton (D)* faces no Republican opponent

District 6
Gina Navarrete (D) v. Tariq Bokhari (R)*

District 7
Ed Driggs (R)* will face no Democratic opponent

[* Incumbent] 

Mecklenburg County voters also will decide on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education At-Large representatives in November. The board is non-partisan and has no primary election.


Raleigh Mayor & City Council

Raleigh mayor and city council races are nonpartisan and therefore do not have primary elections. The following individuals have filed to run in the 2019 election.

Raleigh Mayor (open)
Mary-Ann Baldwin
Zainab Baloch
Charles Francis
George Knott
Caroline Sullivan
Justin Sutton

At-Large (2 seats)
James Bledsoe
Jonathan Melton
Portia Rochelle
Carlie Spencer
Russ Stephenson*
Nicole Stewart*

District A
Joshua Bradley
Patrick Buffkin
Sam Hershey

District B
David Cox*
Brian Fitzsimmons

District C
Sheila Alamin-Khashoggi
Corey Branch*
Wanda Hunter
Ricky Scott

District D
Brittany Bryan
Kay Crowder*
Saige Martin
April Parker

District E
David Knight
Stef Mendell*

[* Incumbent]