RALEIGH — North Carolina primary races are over and the outcome of several double-bunked Republican General Assembly races are now settled.
Double-bunking, when two incumbents end up in the same district, occurred in two House and two Senate races this year as a result of redistricting.
In the 1st state Senate seat, Norman Sanderson beat Bob Steinburg by a 56% to 44% margin. Sanderson’s advantage came from his former district’s counties of Carteret and Pamlico.
The other much-anticipated race was that of the Senate District 47 seat. The race was remarkably close throughout the night with a few lead changes, but ultimately Ralph Hise narrowly edged out Deanna Ballard in the western NC seat. Hise won 6 of the 9 counties including Caldwell, which was the difference maker in the race.
On the House side, the double-bunked races included Reps. Jamie Boles and Ben Moss vying for House District 52. Moss came away with the win, taking in over 53% of the vote. Moss’ win means he will assume the seat this fall since there is no Democratic challenger.
The other race found Jake Johnson solidly beating David Rogers for House District 113 with just over 63% of the vote. As with the District 52 race, the Democrats did not field a candidate and Johnson will assume the seat.
Redistricting and retirements sparked some musical chairs at the General Assembly this year and increased the likelihood that Republicans will reclaim super-majorities in both chambers.
The number of Republicans running unopposed in November for House seats dwarfs that of Democrats by a count of 20 to four. In the Senate, eight Republicans are running unopposed versus just one Democrat.
Benton Sawrey easily won the race for the new Johnston County Senate seat over Jill Homan and Matt Ansley. The only Democrat registered to run for that seat in November is Gettys Cohen Jr.
Republican Brian Echevarria won the nomination for the House District 73 seat in Cabarrus County after winning his three-way primary race with over 57% of the vote. Earlier this year, Echevarria gained recognition following a speech in front of the Cabarrus County School Board that went viral nationwide.
Wake County freshman Rep. Erin Pare will be facing failed Holly Springs mayoral candidate Democrat Christine Kelly for the redrawn District 37 seat. While the results are still unofficial, Kelly only beat her next closest opponent Elizabeth Parent by 68 votes.
Celeste Cairns, a first-time candidate from Emerald Isle, won her House District 13 primary race to replace eight-term Rep. Pat McElraft (R-Carteret) who announced her retirement earlier this year.
Rep. Graig Meyer secured his spot as the democratic candidate to compete for the District 23 seat held by former Senator Valerie Foushee who retired in order to run for former U.S. Congressman David Price’s 4th Congressional District seat. Meyer’s opponent this fall will be Republican Landon Woods.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s intervention in the District 19 Senate seat that includes Cumberland County resulted in incumbent Democrat Kirk deViere losing to Cooper-endorsed Val Applewhite. Before primary night was over, deViere had conceded to Applewhite.
Former Sen. Buck Newton is one step closer to the General Assembly. Newton had in the past represented District 11 but ran in and won his primary race for Senate District 4 with over 6% of the vote. Newton will face Democrat Toby Fitch this fall. Fitch dispatched Rep. Raymond Smith, who elected to challenge him after being double-bunked with House Majority Leader John Bell (R-Wayne) in his Republican-leaning seat.
