Primary 2020: Election results from New Hanover and Brunswick counties [Free read]

SOUTHEAST N.C. — While many were watching the national-level showdown between Democratic presidential candidates, local raises garnered plenty of attention — in particular the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners primary.

Overall voter turnout was, as expected, considerably higher than the 2018 primary elections, but not quite as high as the 2016 elections — which saw hard-fought primary presidential campaigns for both the Democratic and Republican nomination.

Currently, all local precincts have reported, but voting totals are not final until local boards of election have canvassed the vote. In most races, the margins do not appear to be close enough to trigger or allow a recount, which requires that the votes be closer than 1% of the combined total number of votes; for example, if two candidates received 10,000 and 9,000 votes respectively, the margin for a recount would be 190.

Statewide, Joe Biden took the lead with 43% of the ballots, followed by Bernie Sanders with 24%, Bloomberg with 13%, and Warren with 10.5%. Trump took 93% of the vote, with about 2% each going to primary challengers Bill Weld and Joe Walsh.

In New Hanover County, 52,160 ballots were cast, about 31% of the vote, compared to just 16,363 (9.7%) in 2018, and 55,443 (35%) in 2016. In Brunswick County, 33,566 ballots were cast, about 31.7% of the vote, compared to 10,076 (10.2%) in 2018, and 34,986 (39.4%) in 2016.

In New Hanover County, a crowded field competed for Board of Commissioners. There are three seats up in 2020, with only one incumbent — Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr. — running for re-election, leaving two seats open. A total of fifteen candidates were narrowed down to three Democrats and three Republicans.

Barfield will be joined by Leslie Cohen and Kyle Horton — who ran for state and congressional offices, respectively, in 2018 — as Democratic candidates in the general election. Former county commissioner Skip Watkins will return as a Republican candidate in the general election, along with current Board of Education member Bill Rivenbark (who will surrender his school board seat if elected). Longtime Wilmington planning commission chairwoman and member Deb Hays, who recently ran for Wilmington City Council in 2017, will also be on general election ballot as a Republican.

Several races were split across county lines, including the newly redrawn District 19, which now covers parts of southern New Hanover County as well as coastal Brunswick County. In that race, Democrat Marcia Morgan defeated Democrat James Dawkins by a wide margin (about four-to-one); Republican Charlie Miller won a smaller margin (about two-to-one) over Republican David Perry. The Libertarian primary for State Senate District 8 (which covers several counties, came down to less than two dozen votes, with Ethan Bickley losing to Anthony Mascolo).