Who is running for Durham County commissioner, school board, and other races in 2020

Find our voter guide to the March 3, 2020 North Carolina primary here.

Candidate filing for the March 3 primary election ended Friday, Dec. 20.

The election will determine the five members of the Durham County Board of Commissioners, three Durham Public Schools Board of Education seats and a superior and district court judges’ seats. In nonpartisan races or races in which there is no partisan opposition, the primary election could determine the race.

The last day to register to vote in the March primary is Friday, Feb. 7.

Voter registration forms can be found at https://bit.ly/3buqioc.

For first-time voters, registration forms must be mailed to Durham County Board of Elections, P.O. Box 868, Durham, NC 27702 or hand-delivered at at 201 N. Roxboro St., Durham, NC 27701.

Early voting starts Feb. 13 and extends through Feb. 29. The general election will be held on Nov. 3.

There are 8 Durham early voting locations:

▪ North Regional Library - 221 Milton Road, Durham NC 27712

▪ South Regional Library - 4505 S Alston Avenue, Durham, NC 27713

▪ East Regional Library - 211 Lick Creek Lane, Durham, NC 27703

▪ Criminal Justice Resource Center - 326 E Main Street, Durham, NC 27701

▪ Duke University Brodhead Center - 406 Chapel Drive, Durham, NC 27708 (Parking: 107 Union Drive)

▪ Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship - 4907 Garrett Road, Durham, NC 27707

▪ NCCU Turner Law Building - 640 Nelson Street, Durham, NC 27707

▪ Durham Tech North - 2401 Snow Hill Road, Durham, NC 27712

Here are the candidates that filed for election, according to the Durham County Board of Elections.

* denotes incumbent

Board of County Commissioners (5 seats)

County commissioners set the county budget and property tax rates; allocate money to schools, social services and public safety; and make policies affecting services, the local economy and more for years to come.

Because all 15 candidates are registered with the Democratic Party, the 5 winners of the primary are also the winners of the general election.

Each commissioner is elected to a four-year term and receives $25,417 per year. The county commissioner chair gets a slight raise, to $29,920.

▪ Name: Nida Allam

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://www.nidaallam.com/

▪ Name: Nate Baker

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: www.NateForDurham.com

▪ Name: LeVon Barnes

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://www.facebook.com/LeVon4Durham/

▪ Name: Nimasheena Burns

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://www.burnsfordurham.com/

▪ Name: Patrick Byker

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: N/A

▪ Name: Heidi Carter*

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://www.heidicarter.com/

▪ Name: Fred Foster Jr.

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: NA

▪ Name: James Hill

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://www.facebook.com/james4durham/

▪ Name: Brenda Howerton*

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://www.brendahowerton.com/

▪ Name: Wendy Jacobs*

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://wendyjacobsfordurham.com

▪ Name: Matt Kopac

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: http://mattfordurham.com/

▪ Name: Tara Fikes

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Tara-L-Fikes-for-Durham-County-Commissioner-2020-556531751161530/

▪ Name: Regina Mays

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: N/A

▪ Name: Michael Page

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: N/A

▪ Name: John Rooks Jr.

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: http://johnrooksjr.com/

Board of Education

At-large

▪ Name: Paula Januzzi-Godfrey

Website: https://www.facebook.com/paula.m.januzzi

▪ Name: Steven Unruhe*

Website: http://stevenunruhe.com/

▪ Name: Alexandra Valladares

Website: N/A

District A

▪ Name: Jovonia Lewis

Website: https://jlewisfordps.com/

District B

▪ Name: Xavier Cason*

Courts

NC Superior Court Judge 14A

▪ Name: Orlando F. Hudson

Political Affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Orlando-F-Hudson-For-Superior-Court-Judge-112089986928387/

NC District Court Judge Seat 7

▪ Name: Shamieka Rhinehart*

Political affiliation: Democrat

Website: https://rhinehartforjudge.com/

Register of Deeds

▪ Name: Sharon A. Davis*

Political affiliation: Democrat

N.C. Senate District 20

▪Name: Gray Ellis

Political affiliation: Democrat

▪ Name: Pierce Freelon

Political affiliation: Democrat

▪ Name: Natalie Murdock

Political affiliation: Democrat

▪ Name: John Tarantino

Political affiliation: Republican

N.C. Senate District 22

▪ Name: Rick Padgett

Political affiliation: Republican

▪ Name: Ray Ubinger

Political affiliation: Libertarian

▪Name: Mike Woodard*

Political affiliation: Democrat

N.C. House of Representatives District 29

▪ Name: Vernetta Alston

Political affiliation: Democrat

N.C. House of Representatives District 30

▪ Name: Marcia Morey*

Political affiliation: Democrat

▪ Name: Gavin Bell

Political affiliation: Libertarian

N.C. House of Representatives District 31

▪Name: Sean Haugh

Political affiliation: Libertarian

▪ Name: Zack Hawkins*

Political affiliation: Democrat

▪ Name: Steven W. Sosebee Jr.

Political affiliation: Republican

N.C. House of Representatives District 54

▪Name: George Gibson

Political affiliation: Republican

▪ Name: Robert Tyrone Reives II

Political affiliation: Democrat

U.S. House District 4O

One partisan seat is available representing all of Orange, Durham, Granville and Franklin counties, along with parts of Chatham, Vance and northern Wake counties.

Democratic Party

▪ Name: Daniel Ulysses Lockwood

Address: Talking Rock Drive, Cary

Party affiliation: Democrat

▪ Name: David Price*

Address: North Lakeshore Drive, Chapel Hill

Party affiliation: Democrat

Republican Party

▪ Name: Steve (Von) Loor

Address: Hamilton Club Drive, Raleigh

Party affiliation: Republican

▪ Name: Debesh “Dave” Sarkar

Address: Patuxent Drive, Raleigh

Party affiliation: Republican

▪ Name: Nasir Shaikh

Address: Beauvoir Street, Raleigh

Party affiliation: Republican

▪ Name: Robert Thomas

Address: Shady Spring Place, Durham

Party affiliation: Republican

This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 5:55 PM.

Virginia Bridges

The News & Observer

919-829-8924

Virginia Bridges covers what is and isn’t working in North Carolina’s criminal justice system for The News & Observer’s and The Charlotte Observer’s investigation team. She has worked for newspapers for more than 20 years. The N.C. State Bar Association awarded her the Media & Law Award for Best Series in 2018, 2020 and 2025.