The filing period for the 2016 elections ended at noon on Monday. There were a number of candidates who waited until the last minute to file. There will be contested races for school board, county commissioner, NC House, and NC Senate next year.
Board of Education
A total of 11 candidates have filed for four seats on the Johnston County Board of Education. They include two incumbents, Mike Wooten of Princeton and Peggy Smith of Angier. The 9 challengers include Dale Bender of Clayton, John Taylor Brantley of Princeton, Teresa Grant of Garner, Summer Hamrick of Smithfield, Jeffrey Jennings of Clayton, Ronald Johnson of Clayton, Crystal Kimpson Roberts of Smithfield, Todd Sutton of Kenly, and Chip Swartz of Clayton.
NC House District 26
In the NC House District 26 race, where longtime incumbent Representative Leo Daughtry announced he would not seek re-election, two Republicans and one Democrat are seeking the seat. Republican Donna White of Clayton, a member of the Johnston County School Board, and Republican Dennis Nielsen also from Clayton, who ran for the seat two years ago, will face each other in the March primary. Rich Nixon of Clayton filed on the Democratic ticket.
NC House District 28
In the NC House District 28 race, three Republicans and two Democrats have filed for the seat being vacated by retiring Representative J.H. Langdon next year.
Republicans Tony Braswell of Pine Level, the current chairman of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, Larry Strickland of Pine Level, Chairman of the Johnston County Board of Education, and Gregory A. Dail of Garner will face off in the March primary.
Democrat Jimmie M. Massengill of Four Oaks and Patricia Oliver of Selma will also face off in the primary. Massengill filed on Monday just before the deadline. Massengill, 48, is the son of Cecil Massengill a former county commissioner and Register of Deeds of Johnston County. His mother, Jean Massengill, served as a magistrate and Hearing Officer for the DMV.
County Commissioners
Four Johnston County Commissioner seats are up for reelection in 2016. There will be opposition for three of the four seats.
Incumbent Republican Ted Godwin of Selma will be challenged by Democrat Wendy Ella May of Micro for the District 2 seat. Godwin has held the seat for one term.
In District 4, Devan Barbour did not seek re-election, however his son, DeVan Barbour IV of Benson and Larry Wood of Four Oaks are both running on the Republican ticket for the seat.
In the District 6 race, Commissioner Chairman Tony Braswell did not seek re-election to run for the NC House District 28. Two Republicans are seeking to replace him on the county board. School Board member Keith Branch of Smithfield and Darryl Mitchell of Smithfield are seeking the position. Mitchell filled just minutes before Monday’s noontime deadline.
NC Senate
In the NC Senate District 11 race, Buck Newton who holds the seat did not file for re-election and is seeking the NC Attorney’s Generals office. Three candidates want to replace him in the three-county district, that includes Johnston, Nash and Wilson Counties. They include Republicans Rick Horner of Wilson and Benton Sawrey of Clayton, and Democrat Albert Pacer of Zebulon.
