WILMINGTON — There is only one day left until the filing period for candidates wanting to run for public office in 2018 ends, and, so far, 29 candidates submitted their names to run in New Hanover County.
In Pender County the vacated space for sheriff by Carson Smith, who is now running for the N.C. House of Representatives is filling up fast. So far, seven candidates have announced their intention to run for sheriff.
Smith announced his intention to run for the State House of Representatives when Chris Millis announced he was stepping down.
In October, Bob Muller was sworn into office to take over for Millis, but as of now, he has not submitted his name for candidacy for the position.
New Hanover County
This year in New Hanover County, two members of the Board of Commissioners are up for reelection, Rob Zapple and Skip Watkins.
Both commissioners have filed to run for reelection, along with three potential opponents, Julia Olson-Boseman, James Middleton and Eric Lytle. Zapple, Middleton and Olson-Boseman are all registered as Democrats and will face off in the May primary election, while Watkins and Lytle are the Republican candidates.
There are six candidates running for the New Hanover County School Board, Judy Justice, Nelson Beaulieu and Stefanie Adams are running as Democrats. Bill Rivenbark, Bruce Shell and Edward Higgins are all running as Republicans; Higgins and Shell are incumbents.
Pender County
The sheriff’s race in Pender County has seven candidates so far, with six Republican candidates and one Democrat.
Larry Brown, Randy Burton, Alan Cutler, Jason Spivey, Jimmie Stokes and Chester Ward will face off in the Republican primary. Lawrence Fennell is the sole Democrat in the race.
The Pender County Board of Commissioners has three members with terms expiring, David Williams, David Piepmeyer and Chairman George Brown. Williams and Brown have both filed for reelection, as of Monday Piepmeyer had not.
Williams, a Republican, is running for District 1 Commissioner against Dorothy Royal, a Democrat.
Democrat Carol Johnson is running for Piepmeyer’s seat in District 2, and Brown is running for District 3, so far unopposed.
Brunswick County
The race for Brunswick County Board of Commissioners so far only has two candidates, both incumbents on the board. Marty Cooke and Randy Thompson are running for reelection for the Board of Commissioners District 2 and District 1 respectively.
North Carolina and US
U.S. Congressman David Rouzer, a Republican will face either Kyle Horton or Grayson Parker in the general election in November depending on which Democratic candidate wins in the spring primary election.
Republican State Senator Michael Lee is up for reelection and will be facing Democrat Harper Peterson for his senate seat for District 9.
State Senator for District 8 Bill Rabon also has a term expiring and has announced his intention to run for reelection.
David Sink Jr., a Democrat, and Anthony Mascolo, a Libertarian, are running against Rabon.
In District 18 for the N.C. House of Representatives, incumbent Deb Butler has no competition as of Monday, and will be running for reelection.
District 19 N.C. House of Representatives Republican incumbent Ted Davis Jr. will face off against Marcia Morgan, a Democrat, and David Perry, a Libertarian.
Leslie Cohen and John Bauer are the two Democrats who will face off in the primary election to run against Holly Grange of District 20 for the state House of Representatives.
District 16, the office that was vacated by Millis and filled by Muller has Democrat John Johnson facing republican Carson Smith.
In District 17, Frank Iler will face Patrica Sykes in the primaries, and the winner of that race will face Tom Simmons in the general election.
Related story: Here’s what you need to know about the 2018 elections
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