Here are the candidates for Raleigh mayor and City Council in the 2026 election
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Filing opens for Raleigh City Council; most incumbents seek re-election.
- Council shifts to staggered four-year terms; some seats hold two-year terms.
- Primary is March 3 and general election is Nov 3; filing ends Dec 19.
While most North Carolina cities and town are winding down after a busy 2025 election season, local elections in Raleigh are just getting started.
Filing ended Friday for the 2026 election of the Raleigh City Council, the governing body that sets policies on how to manage growth, city services and staff.
Nearly all of the council members are seeking another term, including Mayor Janet Cowell, who is in the middle of her first term.
Council member Jonathan Lambert-Melton, one of two at-large members, is not seeking re-election and instead plans to run for one of two new seats on the Wake County Board of Commissioners.
There are eight seats on the Raleigh City Council all on the ballot together, likely for the last time.
City leaders decided to move from two-year terms to four-year, staggered terms. This fall, the at-large candidate who receives the most votes and the winners in the mayoral, District A and District B seats will be elected to four-year terms.
The remaining council members — the at-large candidate who receives the second most votes and winners in the District C, District D and District E — will be elected to two-year terms. Those seats will then move to four-year terms in November 2028.
Raleigh is also changing its election. It will still be nonpartisan, but there will be a primary in March if there are more than two candidates in the races for mayor and each district seat, or more than four candidates for the two at-large seats.
Now that filing has ended, we know primaries will be held for the two at-large seats and for the District C seat.
The primary is March 3, and the general election is Nov. 3.
Mayor
- Janet Cowell, incumbent, janetcowellformayor.com
- Ashleigh Heath Armstrong
At-Large (two seats)
- Cameron Zamot, cameronforcouncil.org
- Stormie Forte, incumbent, stormie4raleigh.com
- Sana Siddiqui, sana4raleigh.com
- Clark Rinehart, clarkforraleigh.com
- James Bledsoe, electjamesbledsoe.com
- Joshua Bradley, bradleyforraleighworkers.com
District A
- Whitney Hill, whitneyforraleigh.org
- Mitchell Silver, incumbent, silverforraleigh.com
District B
- Megan Patton, incumbent, pattonforraleigh.com
District C
- Corey Branch, incumbent, coreybranch.com
- Diana Powell
- Jared Ollison, jaredollisonforraleigh.com
- Tolulope Omokaiye
District D
- Jane Harrison, incumbent, janeforraleigh.com
- Jevon Smith-Cook
District E
- Christina Jones, incumbent, christinaforraleigh.com
- Marc Scruggs, marc4raleigh.com
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 12:53 PM.
