NC primary results for legislative elections in the Triangle, high-profile races
Several contested races in the Triangle and beyond will determine the future makeup of the General Assembly.
Tuesday night, at least one high-profile race — the Senate District 19 primary — saw incumbent state Sen. Kirk deViere lose to challenger Val Applewhite, according to unofficial results. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, in a rare move, had endorsed Applewhite.
All 170 seats in the state House and Senate are up for election this fall. The primary narrows the field, with winners receiving the nomination of their party.
Applewhite led early and maintained her lead with 56% of the vote, compared to deViere’s 36%, with all precincts reporting. A third candidate, Ed Donaldson, was in a distant third with less than 5%.
DeViere conceded Tuesday night, saying that he respects the voters’ decision but was “disappointed.” DeViere said he called Applewhite, a former Fayetteville City Council member, to offer his congratulations. He’ll finish out the rest of his term in the state Senate this year.
In a statement after her primary win, Applewhite thanked deViere.
“Primaries are tough, and this one was especially challenging. But Senator deViere has been a steadfast public servant for our community, and I hope to work with him to keep this seat in Democratic control this November,” she said.
Applewhite will face former state Sen. Wesley Meredith in the general election. Meredith led the Republican primary with 72% to Dennis Britt’s 27%, with nearly all precincts reporting.
DeViere, a Fayetteville Democrat in his second term, is a moderate who has voted with the Republican Senate majority occasionally on issues like reopening schools for in-person learning in early 2021, and helped negotiate the state budget. Cooper made the surprising move of stepping into the primary to endorse deViere’s Democratic primary opponent, Applewhite. The primary included PAC-funded attack ads against deViere, including one that PolitiFact NC rated “false.”
Cooper trying to influence the election drew a rebuke from another sitting Democrat, N.C. Rep. Billy Richardson, who called on Cooper to retract what he called a “mistake,” the N&O previously reported.
On primary day, deViere was at the polls talking with voters. He told The News & Observer that he plans to watch initial election returns at home with his family, friends and campaign team.
“People are very receptive, they are very supportive, especially of the work we’ve done over the last four years,” deViere said. He received the endorsement of the North Carolina Association of Educators and his local Cumberland County teachers group.
In his concession statement, deViere said that campaigns “too often are about winners and losers but when that happens, what gets lost are ideas and values. There is too much at stake in our community, state and nation to let that happen here.”
He stopped short of commenting Tuesday on the governor’s role in the primary. DeViere is the only Democrat that Cooper singled out, even though several other Democrats have voted like deViere.
Speaking at the Democratic Party’s primary party on Tuesday night, Cooper called upon fellow Democrats to make calls, knock on doors and donate money in support of the entire ticket. It matters not only for candidates at the top of the ticket like U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley, but also to sustain his ability to veto bills from the legislature, Cooper said.
”Since we broke that supermajority in the state legislature, I have vetoed 43 very bad bills and the state legislature has sustained it 43 times,” Cooper said.
House Minority Leader Robert Reives, a Chatham County Democrat, said that he believes Democrats could win a majority in the House in the fall.
”We have the best opportunity that we have had in 10 years to take this state in another direction,” Reives said.
Republican primary Ballard vs. Hise
Another primary race watched by political observers was in Western North Carolina, where incumbent Sens. Deanna Ballard and Ralph Hise were double-bunked in Senate District 47 from recent redistricting. Hise ultimately won with just over 1% of a lead.
With all precincts reporting, Hise won with 13,009 votes, which is 50.6%. Ballard received 12,673 votes, which is 49.35% of the votes. The results are unofficial.
Both Republicans had been popular with voters in their previous districts and are in top Senate leadership roles — Ballard in education and Hise in appropriations.
Triangle primaries
Here are results from primary races in the Triangle.
Wake County legislative primaries
Results are unofficial until certified by the Board of Elections.
NC House District 33:
With 86% of the vote, Democratic candidate Rosa U. Gill defeated Nate Blanton, who received 13%.
NC House District 34:
Republican candidate Ashley Seshul won with 70% of the vote, to Joshua Jordan’s 29%.
NC House District 35:
Republican candidate Fred Von Canon defeated Brandon Panameno, 79% to 20%.
NC House District 37:
Democratic candidate Christine Kelly received 38% of the vote, followed by Elizabeth Parent with 37% and Mary Bethel with 24%.
NC House District 40:
Democratic candidate Joe John defeated Marguerite Creel, 74% to 25%.
NC House District 66:
Democratic candidate Sarah Crawford received 47% of the vote, defeating Wesley Knott, who had 45%, and Frank (Jeremiah) Pierce, who had 7% of the votes.
NC Senate District 13:
Democratic candidates Lisa Grafstein defeated Patrick Buffkin, with 66% of the vote to his 33%.
Republican candidate David Bankert defeated Jeff Werner 52% to 47%.
NC Senate District 18:
With 84% of the vote, Republican candidate E.C. Sykes defeated Dimitry Slabyak, who received 18%.
Orange County legislative primaries
NC House District 50:
With 72% of the vote, Democratic candidate Renee Price defeated Matt Hughes, who received 28% of the vote.
NC House District 56:
With 51% of the vote, Democratic candidate Allen Buansi defeated Jonah Garson, who received 48% of the vote.
NC Senate District 23:
With 82% of the vote, Democratic candidate Graig R. Meyer defeated Jamie DeMent Holcomb, who received 18% of the vote.
With 58% of the vote, Republican candidate Landon Woods defeated Bill Cooke, who received 41% of the vote.
Chatham County legislative primaries
NC House District 54:
With 64% of the vote, Republican candidate Walter Petty defeated Craig Kinsey, who received 36% of the vote.
Johnston County legislative primaries
NC Senate District 10:
Republican candidate Benton Sawrey won the primary with 65% of the vote, defeating Jill Homan’s 19% and Matt Ansley’s 14%.
NC House District 53:
Republican candidate Howard Penny Jr. defeated Brian Hawley, 63% to 36%.
Durham County legislative primaries
NC Senate District 22:
Republican candidate Larry Coleman defeated John Tarantino, with 68% to 31% of the vote.
Reporter Adam Wagner contributed to this story.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at https://campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published May 17, 2022 at 7:59 PM.
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