State Sen. Michael Lee was elected to his first full term in the N.C. Senate on Tuesday night.
Lee, a Republican who was appointed to the Senate in August when Sen. Thom Goolsby resigned, defeated Democrat Elizabeth Redenbaugh 55.3 percent to 44.6 percent in unofficial results with more than 99 percent of precincts reporting.
Most recently the chairman of the ports authority board, Lee relinquished his seat on that board and the transportation board upon his appointment to the Senate in August. He said both posts have provided him with experience he could apply in the Senate.
“I’ve had the ability to essentially serve in the executive branch as an appointee and have a real understanding of how that process works,” Lee recently told Port City Daily. “And having the benefit of that experience, of working in the administration as an administrative appointee, really gives me an experience going into the legislature that will benefit our area in a very dramatic way.”
Senate District 8
State Sen. Bill Rabon, a Southport Republican, was elected to his third term in the N.C. Senate on Tuesday, defeating Democrat challenger Ernie Ward with 57 percent of the vote to Ward’s 43.
N.C. House races
Republican Rep. Rick Catlin defeated Democrat challenger Betsy Jordan with 62 percent of the vote to Jordan’s 37 percent.
Democrat Susi Hamilton, who was unopposed, won re-election with 100 percent of the vote. Republican Ted Davis, also unopposed, received 100 percent of the votes for the District 19 seat.
In Brunswick County, N.C. Rep. Frank Iler, an Oak Island Republican, defeated Democrat challenger Charles Warren 67 percent to 32 percent.
