District 17 Director Jones among 35 incumbents defeated in primaries

Thirty-five incumbent county commissioners were defeated in the May 4 primary elections, meaning that – combined with the 53 sitting commissioners who did not seek re-election – at least 88 new commissioners will take office in December.

Since the NCACC began tracking elections results in 1974, an average of 141 county commission seats have changed hands each December of each even-numbered year.

At least one current member of the NCACC Board of Directors lost his seat. District 17 Director Dana Jones – along with every other member of the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners – lost on May 4. District 12 Director Jim Klein of Lincoln County will be involved in a run-off June 22.

Commissioners Billy Yow and Scott Keadle both fell short in their bids for the United States House of Representatives. Yow, a Guilford County commissioner, lost to longtime U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, while Keadle, an Iredell County commissioner, failed to unseat Rep. Patrick McHenry.

Of the six sitting commissioners running for the N.C. Senate, five faced primary opposition, and just one – Macon County's Jim Davis – came away a winner.

Granville County's Ron Alligood, Lenoir County's Chris Humphrey, Surry County's Paul Johnson and McDowell County's Andy Webb all lost to primary opposition. Beaufort County's Hood Richardson faced no primary opposition; he will challenge Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight this November.

Two commissioners running for the N.C. House, Randolph County's Arnold Lanier and Davidson County's Fred McClure, lost in the primaries. Four others running for the House – NCACC President and Cleveland County Commissioner Mary Accor, Henderson County's Chuck McGrady, Pender County's F.D. Rivenbark and Gaston County's John Torbett – were unopposed for the primaries. McGrady and Torbett face no opposition in November.

A listing of commissioners who lost in primary races follows:

Alleghany: Randy Miller
Bladen: W.D. Neill Jr., Larry Smith and Albert Beatty
Carteret: Richard Hunt
Catawba: Glenn Barger
Cherokee: Jonathan Dickey, David Sumpter and Dana Jones
Craven: Renée Sisk
Cumberland: Phillip Gilfus
Currituck: Barry Nelms
Davie: Ron Hoth
Edgecombe: Evelyn Powell
Gates: Wade Askew and Carlton Nickens
Graham: Steve Odom and Gene Trull
Henderson: Bill Moyer
Hyde: Gene Ballance
Madison: Elsberry Wyatt
Mitchell: Lisa Sparks
Moore: Cindy Morgan
Richmond: Paul Wilson Jr.
Rockingham: Amelia Whitley Dallas
Rowan: Tina Hall and Chad Mitchell will be involved in a run-off June 22
Rutherford: Margaret Helton and Paul McIntosh
Sampson: Malachi Faison
Scotland: Betty Blue Gholson and J.D. Willis
Tyrrell: Thomas Spruill
Union: Lanny Openshaw
Warren: Ernie Fleming
Yadkin: Brady Wooten