What to know and where to learn more about Orange County’s 2026 primary election

Orange County voters will start casting ballots Thursday when the polls open for early voting in the March 3 primary.

Orange County offices are typically filled during the primary, because the heavily Democratic county rarely has Republican challengers. A couple of GOP candidates are running this year for county commissioner.

Competitive local races are:

• Orange County Schools Board of Education (four seats): Incumbents Will Atherton, Anne Purcell and Sarah Smylie, and challengers Brian Edwards, Lori Russell and Saru Salvi. See more below.
• Sheriff: Incumbent Charles Blackwood and David LaBarre.
• Register of Deeds: Amy McLamb is running against Penny Rich.
• County Commissioner District 1: Incumbent Jamezetta Bedford and Maria Palmer.
• County Commissioner District 2: Incumbent Earl McKee and Beth Bronson. Republican Louis D. Capitanio will challenge the winner in November.
• County Commissioner At-large District: Adam Beeman and Karen Stegman. Republican Jeffrey Hoagland will challenge the winner in November.

Voters in District 1 (Chapel Hill and Carrboro) and District 2 (the rest of the county) vote in their respective primaries. All county voters decide the at-large commissioners primary and the November election contests.

When is the primary?

• The primary election is Tuesday, March 3. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Voters can register at Early Voting poll locations. Early Voting runs through Feb. 28.
• More information: orangecountync.gov/1720/Elections

Upcoming candidate forums

• Tuesday, Feb. 10: 7-8:30 p.m. at Schley Grange Hall, 3416 Schley Grange Road, Hillsborough. Focus on Orange County Schools board candidates.
• Thursday, Feb. 12: 7-8:30 p.m. at Mt. Zion AME, 5124 N.C. 86, Hillsborough. Focus on affordable housing and property taxes.
• Saturday, Feb. 21: 2-5 p.m. at Schley Grange Hall, 3416 Schley Grange Road. Focus on the races for Orange County sheriff; at-large and District 2 commissioner; and N.C. House District 50.

Orange County School Board forum

The Orange County school board race is nonpartisan. Here are excerpts from a Feb. 2 virtual campaign forum:

What accounted for recent district growth, and how can that continue?

Atherton: I think some of the really important things that we’ve done in our district is focused on a strong core, group interventions, learning coaches that have added support at multiple levels within our schools … I also think students really understanding what their data is … and what supports [families] need … are key elements at play.

Edwards: We definitely need to do better … to lift up the kids that are struggling and that need a little bit of extra help. We can do that through collaborative learning, getting all the teachers together, getting all the ideas on how to improve from your community.

Purcell: I look at this as the road map to get to where we need to be … There are a lot of things coming together to get the children involved, the teachers involved, [and] the parents also involved, because they know what their goals are for their kids.

Russell: [The district] should continue investing in targeted supports and exploring evidence-based approaches like early literacy, targeted academic interventions, strong mental health supports and attention to barriers related to language and disability. It also means examining how processes, timelines, communication, eligibility, criteria, all of those things, affect families differently.

Salvi: The school district has done a really nice job of having 100% [of schools] meet or exceed growth. The only problem … you’re treading water, and that’s where I [call] on the community and businesses and students and parents and anyone that we can get to volunteer to help those students who are not proficient.

Smylie: Some of the things that I am excited to keep supporting is just a general orientation to continuous improvement … professional learning communities at schools, teachers coming together and reflecting together on the outcomes of [an] assessment … and where the patterns are and how they fit.

How would you support families if Immigration and Customs Enforcement returns?

Atherton: We must start with two-way conversations with the families that are directly affected. [Policy 5120] does need to be updated … specifically looking at how we interact with law enforcement, local and federal vs. Border Patrol, looking at judicial warrants vs. administrative warrants … and making sure that we educate our administrators and staff.

Edwards: We have an absolute responsibility to make sure every child ... is able to receive an education without feeling fear of immigration action. … There needs to be policies that allow the schools to reach out to parents to let them know if immigration action is in the area or if immigration has shown up at their child’s school.

Purcell: I do agree that Policy 5120 does need to be updated. … I also need to give a shout out to our superintendent, who has given the guidelines and the training to all the principals and assistant principals in this district.

Russell: That includes clear, consistent policies … making sure staff and administrators have guidelines on how to handle complicated situations. We want to make sure that there’s also transparent communication with the families … That does not mean that we are not compliant with the laws that we must follow.

Salvi: There is no way to prepare … and that’s the fear that our immigrant families are facing, so how do we resolve that? Do we try to force them into our school system, or do we try to take the school system to them when we can? Does the school system help support them with their groceries and other transportation?

Smylie: We should make changes to Policy 5120 about our relationship with law enforcement. I think it was written during a time when we mostly interacted with [school resource officers] and the county sheriff, and they mostly respected not to disrupt school. … I want to see us doing more to communicate ... with families.

This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 4:05 PM.

Tammy Grubb

The News & Observer

919-829-8926

Tammy Grubb has written about Orange County’s politics, people and government since 2010. She is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna and has lived and worked in the Triangle for over 30 years.