PENDER COUNTY — Primary Election Day is scheduled for March 3, 2026, and several Pender County districts will have races on the ballot. This includes Republican primaries for both the school board and the county commissioners.
Pender County has five districts for both the school board and county commissioners: four commissioner seats are up, in all but District 5 (which includes Burgaw and the northeastern part of the county). All four commissioner races have Republican primaries. In districts 1 and 2 the primary winner will face a Democrat in November’s general election (Tim Zizack in D1, Brookey Hardee in D2). In districts 3 and 4, the winner of the Republican primary will also be the presumptive winner in the general election.
READ MORE: All candidate questionnaires from Brunswick and New Hanover counties
Three school board seats are up for election and two — in districts 1 and 2 — have Republican primaries. There are no Democratic candidates for the school board in this year’s primary or general election.
To find out where candidates stand, the media consortium of WECT-TV, Port City Daily, and WHQR Public Media has solicited responses on issues facing Pender County and its schools.
The media group sent the same questionnaire to each candidate on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and requested their responses by Monday, Feb. 9. The Q&As have only been edited for clarity and are published below.
But before reading, here are a few items to keep in mind ahead of the primary election: All registered Democratic candidates can only vote a Democratic ballot, and all Republicans can only vote a Republican ballot. Meanwhile, unaffiliated voters can choose either a Republican or a Democratic ballot to vote.
- A valid ID is required to cast ballot in North Carolina. If you do not have an ID you will have fill out a photo ID exemption form.
- Primary Election Day is March 3, 2026, with voters required to go to their assigned precinct locations.
- Early voting opens Feb. 12 and closes Feb. 28.
- Early voting locations and hours: Pender County NC Cooperative Extension Auditorium, 801 S. Walker St. Burgaw; Pender County Annex Building, 15060 US Highway 17, Hampstead. Monday–Friday: 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. Saturdays (Febr. 21-28): 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Anyone who wants to see if they’re registered to vote can do so here
Click the names below to access the Q&As for all candidates who responded:
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
District 1
District 2:
- Ryan Collins didn’t respond
- Randy Burton (incumbent)
District 3
- Andy Jessie DeVane didn’t respond
- David Fallin didn’t respond
District 4:
- Max Southworth-Beckwith
- Jimmy T. Tate (incumbent)
BOARD OF EDUCATION
District 1:
- Sam Guidry didn’t respond
- Jennifer Hansen (incumbent)
District 2
- Jason K. Jordan didn’t respond
- Kim McGahey
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