SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — A contentious district attorney race representing the prosecutorial district 6 for New Hanover and Pender counties will go to Republican Jason Smith.
READ MORE: Democratic DA candidate in New Hanover County has raised 10 times as much as competitor
Smith faced off against Democrat Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson, who was appointed interim district attorney by Gov. Roy Cooper after former DA Ben David resigned in September. Smith received more than 53% of the vote, with Donaldson taking more than 46%.
The Republican candidate has worked in the DA’s office for 14 years, serving as assistant district attorney for a decade.
Donaldson has been a prosecutor for nine years, working in King’s County District Attorney’s Office in New York before moving back to her hometown to become ADA for Pender and New Hanover counties.
The race was filled with controversy in recent weeks, with Smith and other district attorneys pushing back on Donaldson for attack ads she paid for, criticizing Smith’s record. In response, Smith and 15 of 21 district attorneys signed a petition, asking for Donaldson to remove the ads, noting it paints the entire DA’s office in a bad light.
Smith called a press conference last month to address the issue.
“I’m here today to say these advertisements are grossly misleading, inappropriate, and frankly, not in keeping with the standard of integrity demanded of an individual charged to hold the office of the district attorney,” Smith said. “By going after a specific DA for a specific case for political gain, it makes this whole office look bad, and it creates distrust in this community that we have we’ve tried for the last 20 years of building up.”
Donaldson’s ads indicated Smith cut a plea deal that put an illegal immigrant back on the streets, after raping a 13-year-old. Former DA David also spoke out against the move, saying the ads created a “false narrative” and added politics should be removed from the DA’s office.
Read WHQR’s deep dive into the incident here.
| DISTRICT ATTORNEY DISTRICT 06 (UNEXPIRED) (VOTE FOR 1) Precincts Reported: 59 of 59 | View Contest Details | ||
| NAME ON BALLOT | PARTY | BALLOT COUNT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jason W. Smith | REP | 89,583 | 53.44% |
| Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson | DEM | 78,046 | 46.56% |
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