SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Primary Election Day is Tuesday, March 3, with polls opening at 6:30 a.m. and closing by 7:30 p.m. statewide.
Aside from federal and state seat races, there are commissioner and school board elections, as well as superior and district court judges, district attorney, sheriff, and more on the ballot in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties.
In fact, multiple local races qualify for a primary, which is when there are more candidates from a particular party than there are seats available on a board. For instance, on the New Hanover County Schools Board of Education, there are four seats open, but six Democratic and five Republican candidates in the running.
Voters during a primary must select the ballot of the party they’re affiliated with — so a registered Democrat can only vote for Democratic candidates and all Republicans must fill out a Republican ballot. Unaffiliated voters can choose either a Republican or Democratic ballot to vote during the primary election.
To see a sample ballot and all candidates that will appear on it, click here.
A few items to consider ahead of going to the polls on Tuesday:
- The Primary Election requires voters to bring a valid ID to cast a ballot in North Carolina. Anyone who does not have an ID will have fill out a photo ID exemption form.
- Voters must report to their polling precinct — enter your address here to check — to cast a ballot on March 3, unlike early voting which allowed voters to any polling location.
- Absentee ballot requests closed Tuesday, Feb. 17, though all ballots must be returned by Primary Election Day, March 3, 7:30 p.m. — when the polls close.
- Anyone who is not registered to vote cannot cast a ballot, as registration closed Saturday, Feb. 28, the last day of early voting. To check voter registration, click here.
Below are questionnaires the media consortium of Port City Daily, WECT and WHQR sent candidates of local races in the tri-county region. To see where they stand on issues, click their names below; anyone who did not respond, despite multiple attempts to include their answers, is denoted.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY
Board of Commissioners
The winner will face off against two Republicans and a Libertarian candidate during the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Democratic Candidates
Salette Andrews
Judy Justice
LeShonda Wallace
Rob Zapple
Board of Education
Four seats are open with six Democratic and five Republicans vying for them; whomever wins will move on to the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Democratic Candidates
Nelson Beaulieu
Wendy Dale
Margie Gewirtzman
Jerry Jones Jr.
Brittnei LaRue
Rick Southerland
Republican Candidates
Josie Barnhart
Pat Bradford
Amy Dunning
Melissa Mason
Chris Sutton
BRUNSWICK COUNTY
Board of Commissioners
Two Republican candidates are running for two commissioner seats in districts 1 and 2. The district winners will face off against Democratic candidates in the general election — Gary Woods in District 1 and Sara Singer in District 2. Two school board districts are being contested, but there are no primary elections held for them.
District 1
Clifton Cheek
Randy Thompson (incumbent)
District 2
Marty Cooke (incumbent) — Did not answer
Patti Hewett
Prosecutorial District 15 District Attorney
Two Republican candidates are running for the DA position this year. No Democrats filed in the race, so the winning Republican will be the presumptive winner in November’s general election as well.
Republican
Jenna Earley
JK Somers
Sheriff’s Office
Two Republican candidates are running for the sheriff position this year. No Democrats filed in the 2026 race, so the Republican that takes the primary win will also be the presumptive winner in November’s general election.
Republican
Brian Chism (incumbent)
Tim Daniels
PENDER COUNTY
Board of Commissioners
Pender County has five districts for county commissioners, with four commissioner seats up in all but District 5. 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.
District 1
Joe Cina
Shayne Frey
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
Pender County has five districts, with three school board seats up for election. 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 elections.
District 1
Sam Guidry didn’t respond
Jennifer Hansen (incumbent)
District 2
Jason K. Jordan didn’t respond
Kim McGahey
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