Karen Stegman won the Democratic primary for the open at-large seat on the Orange County Board of Commissioners, while District 1 incumbent Jamezetta Bedford appears poised for re-election on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the closest race of the night unfolded in District 2, where Beth Bronson holds a slim lead over long-time Commissioner Earl McKee.
With all precincts reported, Bronson held a 32-vote lead (5,478 votes, 50.15%) over McKee (5,446, 49.85%) — squarely putting the race into recount territory. Bronson, who is a first-time candidate and senior clinical research coordinator, campaigned on bringing a fresh perspective as a young homeowner to the Board of County Commissioners in the primary, as McKee ran to earn a fifth term serving rural Orange County.
In the District 1 race, which sees only Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents vote, incumbent Democrat Jamezetta Bedford finished with more than 57% of the vote compared to former Chapel Hill Town Council member María Palmer (42.8%). With no Republican candidates running in the District 1 race, Bedford will effectively earn a third term on the board after first joining the board in 2018.
The unofficial county in the at-large race sees Stegman holds more than 77% of the vote over Adam Beeman (22%), a comfortable margin that indicates she will likely return to elected office and join the county level of government after departing the Chapel Hill Town Council in 2025.
The winning District 2 Democrat will face Republican Louis D. Capitanio on the ballot in the general election and the at-large Democrat winner will draw Republican Jeffrey Hoagland this fall.
The general election winners will take their oath of office at the end of 2026 to join District 1 Commissioners Jean Hamilton and Marilyn Carter, District 2 Commissioner Phyllis Portie-Ascott and At-Large Commissioner Amy Fowler — who are each just more than one year into their own four-year terms on the board.
Additional results from Tuesday night can be found on Chapelboro’s 2026 Primary Election Results page.
This is a developing story and will be updated further.
Featured photo via Stegman for Orange.
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