Brittney Lofthouse – Contributing Writer
All eyes were on North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District Tuesday night as primary election results started to roll in. With incumbent Mark Meadows bowing out, a sea of candidates from both parties added their names to the ballot.
With new district lines, the 11th District featured all of Asheville, giving Democrats the best shot at regaining the seat that they have had in years. Buncombe County Democrat Moe Davis won the Democrat nominee with nearly 50 percent of the votes.
The Republican race for Congress doesn’t have a clear victor and instead will be heading into a runoff race, which will be held on May 12. Haywood County Republican Lynda Bennett, who was granted the endorsement of Rep. Meadows, ended just shy of 23 percent of the votes cast. A candidate must receive more than 30 percent in a primary election to be considered a winner and because Bennett did not, she will be facing Madison Cawthorn again on May 12. Madison Cawthorn and Jim Davis were neck and neck throughout Tuesday night and as counties across WNC reported in, the two were separated by just over 1,000 votes with Cawthorn surpassing Davis. The final tally had Bennett over Cawthorn by just 2,000 votes.
Former N.C. Sen. Cal Cunningham, D-Davidson, won the Democratic nomination to face off against the Republican incumbent, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis of Mecklenburg County, to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate.
Macon County native Kevin Corbin won the North Carolina Senate District 50 race by a landslide, securing more than 78 percent of the total votes over Jackson County resident Sarah Conway.
In the race for governor, the incumbent, Gov. Roy Cooper, won the Democratic primary with 87% of the vote.
Dan Forest, who has served as Lt. Governor since 2013, won the Republican primary with 89% of the vote.
The District Court Judge race came down to two candidates, Kaleb Wingate and Jim Moore, and with the final precincts reporting, Wingate came out ahead with over 10,000 votes – more than 40 percent of the total.
Political newcomer Josh Young won Macon County’s Board of Commissioner’s District II seat for the Republican ticket with 2,482 votes over Bryan Rauers’ 1,850. Republican Terry Bradley received 1,239 votes. On the Democrat ballot, Betty Cloer Wallace came out on top, receiving 1,768 votes to Olga Lampkin’s 1,409.
For the presidential Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, D-Delaware, won in North Carolina’s with 43% of the vote. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, earned 24% of the vote and is the only other candidate to surpass the 15% threshold to earn delegates from the state. In Macon County, voters cast 1,437 for Biden; 735 for Sanders; and the third highest vote getter was Michael Bloomberg with 454.
All results are considered preliminary until after canvassing, which will be held on March 13.
