REBIC – Your Primary Candidates Revealed. March Voting will Matter

From REBIC - January 13, 2026

Don’t get comfortable. The days are whizzing by and now that all primary candidates have filed for office, it’s time to dig in and learn. Here is a list of competitive primary races in our area for you to review, copy, and to share.

Candidate List – 2026 Primary Election

County Commission

(*Denotes Incumbent)

Mecklenburg County

At Large (3 seats):

Leslie Allen (D)

*Leigh Altman (D)

Nichel Dunlap (D)

Toni Emehel (D)

*Arthur Griffin, Jr. (D)

Sharif R. Hannan (D)

Heather Morrow (D)

Olivia Scott (D)

Felicia R. Thompkins (D)

*Yvette Townsend-Ingram (D)

District 1:

Jessica Finkel (D)

Morris (Mac) McAdoo (D)

Adam Pasiak (D)

District 2:

Monifa (Mo) Drayton (D)

*Vilma D. Leake (D)

District 3:

Phil Carey (D)

*George Dunlap (D)

Iredell County

At Large (3 seats):

*Scottie Brown (R)

*Bert Connolly (R)

*Brad Stroud, Sr. (R)

Brent Goddard (R)

Angela Wokatsch Matthews (R)

Lisa Meier (R)

Cabarrus County

At Large (3 seats):

*Ian Patrick (R)

James N. Bailey (R)

David Conrad (R)

Cason Gardner (R)

Alexis Hughes (R)

Krushani Patel (R)

Barry G. Richards (R)

Kristel Swayze (R)

Gaston County

Dallas Township:

*Cathy Cloninger (R)

Dennis James Stines (R)

Union County

At Large (3 seats): 

*Melissa M. Merrell (R)

*Brian W. Helms (R)

Wyatt Dunn (R)

Sam Harris (R)

Elizabeth Lee (R)

Patrick Tyson (R)

NC House

(*Denotes Incumbent)

House District 89:

*Mitchell Setzer (R)

Lisa Deaton Koperski (R)

House District 95:

*Todd Carver (R)

Michael Thomas Kubiniec (R)

House District 99:

Veleria M. Levy (D)

*Nasif Majeed (D)

Tucker Neal (D)

House District 105:

*Tricia Cotham (R)

Kelly VanHorn (R)

House District 106:

Vermanno Bowman (D)

*Carla Cunningham (D)

Rodney Sadler (D)

NC Senate

(*Denotes Incumbent)

Senate District 34:

*Chris Measmer (R)

Kevin Crutchfield (R)

Rob’s Take: Many of these races will be decided in the Primary Election either because the opposite party fielded no candidate or because the voter registration numbers favor one party’s candidate so heavily that there really is no contest. That’s why immersing yourself now in the process and gaining a better understanding of the candidates is so crucial at this juncture. We’ll be back in touch with more information on specific candidates as we move closer to Early Voting which begins on February 12th, if you can believe it.