Early voting has begun for this year’s primary election, with many high-profile races in Orange County.
U.S. House Rep. David Price and State House Rep. Verla Insko are retiring after decades-long careers, and State Sen. Valerie Foushee and State House Rep. Graig Meyer are both running for higher offices – so Orange County’s entire state and federal legislative delegation will change hands this year. (That’s even true in the U.S. Senate, as Republican Richard Burr is also retiring. The only current lawmaker who will remain in place will be Sen. Thom Tillis, whose seat isn’t up for election in 2022.)
There are even a few closely-watched local races as well: a two-person race to succeed the retiring Jim Woodall as Orange/Chatham District Attorney; a contentious race for Orange County Register of Deeds; a two-person race for an open spot on the Carrboro Town Council; and an eight-person race (including only two incumbents) for four seats on the Orange County School Board.
Most of those races won’t officially be decided until November – but in heavily-Democratic Orange County, the Democratic primary winner is usually a virtual lock to win the general election as well.
Given all that, it’s no surprise that excitement about this year’s primary is higher than usual for a midterm. Turnout for the first three days of early voting was nearly on pace with the first three days of early voting in the presidential primary two years ago.
As part of the campaign, numerous organizations and media outlets have weighed in with endorsements – including IndyWeek, the Anderson/Thorpe/Battle Breakfast Club, Progressive Democrats of Orange County, the Triangle Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, EMILY’s List, Equality NC, and the North Carolina AFL-CIO, to name a few.
Which local candidates are receiving which endorsements?
97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com have been tracking endorsements as they’ve come in. Read the full list of endorsements below, for the Democratic primary.
U.S. HOUSE (DISTRICT 4)
Numerous organizations and individuals have weighed in with endorsements in this very high-profile race. The vast majority of the endorsements have been split between State Sen. Valerie Foushee and Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, but climate scientist Ashley Ward has pulled in a few key endorsements as well.
With so many endorsements coming in for U.S. House, we won’t list all of them. Instead we’ll link to the candidates’ web pages, where they’ve listed their endorsements in a more readable format:
Visit Valerie Foushee’s website for the full list of her endorsements.
Visit Nida Allam’s website for the full list of her endorsements.
Visit Ashley Ward’s website for the full list of her endorsements.
Other candidates have received endorsements primarily from individuals rather than organizations:
Visit Richard Watkins’ website for his endorsements.
Visit Crystal Cavalier’s website for her endorsements.
Clay Aiken’s website does not list any endorsements, but he has been endorsed by one organization, Equality PAC.
NC STATE SENATE (DISTRICT 23)
Graig Meyer: IndyWeek, Sierra Club, Orange County Progressive Democrats, Equality NC, NC League of Conservation Voters, NC AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, NC Asian Americans Together, Pro-Choice North Carolina, EMPAC (State Employees Association of NC), Breakfast Club
Jamie DeMent Holcomb: EMILY’s List
NC STATE HOUSE (DISTRICT 50)
Renee Price: Indy Week, Orange County Progressive Democrats, Emily’s List, Breakfast Club, Democratic Socialists of America NC Triangle Chapter
Matt Hughes: NC Asian Americans Together
(Equality NC endorsed both candidates, Renee Price and Matt Hughes.)
NC STATE HOUSE (DISTRICT 56)
Allen Buansi: Equality NC, NC AFL-CIO, Breakfast Club, Run for Something, Vote Pro-Choice, SMART
Jonah Garson: Democratic Socialists of America NC Triangle Chapter, Sunrise Movement of Durham
(The IndyWeek and the Orange County Progressive Democrats endorsed both candidates, Allen Buansi and Jonah Garson.)
ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD
Sarah Smylie: IndyWeek, Orange County Progressive Democrats, Orange County Association of Educators, Equality NC
Ashley Wheeler: IndyWeek, Orange County Progressive Democrats, Orange County Association of Educators, Equality NC
Will Atherton: Orange County Association of Educators
Andre Richmond: Orange County Association of Educators
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY (DISTRICT 18)
Jeff Nieman: Orange County Progressive Democrats, Breakfast Club, Northern Orange Black Voters Alliance, Democratic Socialists of America NC Triangle Chapter
(The IndyWeek endorsed both candidates, Jeff Nieman and Kayley Taber.)
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER OF DEEDS
Mark Chilton: IndyWeek, Orange County Progressive Democrats, Breakfast Club, Democratic Socialists of America NC Triangle Chapter
CARRBORO TOWN COUNCIL
Eliazar Posada: IndyWeek, Sierra Club, Breakfast Club, Orange County Democrats, Orange County Progressive Democrats, Victory Fund, NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Democratic Socialists of America NC Triangle Chapter
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