The N&O editorial board’s recommendations in NC Wake County’s House primaries

For a county that turned solidly Democratic in 2018, there is a surprising amount of activity in state House primaries. Of Wake’s 11 House districts, five will have primaries on March 3 — two Democratic and three Republican.

District 33

First, the Democrats. Only one Democratic incumbent is being challenged — Rosa Gill in Dist. 33. The other Democratic race is a contest to run for the Dist. 38 seat being vacated by Yvonne Holley, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

The contest in Dist. 33, which covers much of south Raleigh and Garner, is a generational contest. Gill is a fixture in Wake County politics. A former teacher, she served for 12 years on the Wake school board and has advocated for education in the state House since 2009.

Gill’s challenger is Antoine Marshall, a young Raleigh lawyer who lost to Gill in 2018 in a three-way primary. Marshall said he would focus on economic issues, especially creating more affordable housing. We think Marshall has a future in Raleigh politics, but for this race we recommend Rosa Gill.

District 38

The Democratic contest in Dist. 38 in central Raleigh also features an established Wake County figure and a newcomer. Former Superior Court Judge Abe Jones is competing against Quanta Monique Edwards, a real estate broker and political newcomer.

Jones, who served two eight-year terms on Wake Superior Court, lost his bid for re-election in 2012 and bids for the Court of Appeals in 2014 and 2016. A former assistant United States Attorney and assistant attorney general in the N.C. Department of Justice, Jones is now in private practice. We recommend Abe Jones.

“I’m running because I’ve been a judge and a prosecutor and an attorney and the only thing I haven’t been able to do is shape the law,” Jones said. If elected, he will push for reforms in the criminal justice system.

Edwards said her priorities in the state House would be supporting Medicaid expansion and increasing state funding for public schools and affordable housing.

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Republicans are facing off in three Wake House districts for the chance to take on Democratic incumbents in November.

District 35

Dist. 35, covering northeastern Wake County, features two strong conservatives: Fred Von Canon and Alma Peters. Von Canon could not be reached for comment. Peters, a native of Mexico who came legally to the U.S. in 1995, said she supports “a strong national defense, free markets and the right to bear arms.”

We make no recommendation in this race.

District 36

In Dist. 36, covering south central and parts of western Wake County, two Cary residents are competing for the Republican nomination: Gil Pagan, a business owner, and Kim Coley, a real estate investor. Pagan lost a race for school board in 2016 and Coley ran unsuccessfully against Democrat Susan Evans for the Wake County Board of Commissioners in 2018.

We recommend Gil Pagan. He has ideas about improving struggling schools and helped Cary develop a 25-year plan as a member of the town’s Committee for the Future.

District 37

In Dist. 37, covering Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina, three candidates are seeking the Republican nomination: Erin Pare, Jeff Moore and Anna Powell. We recommend Anna Powell, Fuquay-Varina native and real estate agent. She is a moderate Republican willing to work with Democrats to preserve the character of her district even as it grows.

This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 12:00 AM.