Incumbents Hold Off Challengers In Soil And Water Race

Langdon, Hardee Win Reelection

SMITHFIELD – Both incumbent Johnston Soil and Water Conservation District supervisors won reelection Tuesday, defeating seven challengers in a nine-candidate nonpartisan race for two seats.

John Michael Langdon led the field with 25,589 votes, or 20.90 percent, followed by fellow incumbent Dewitt Hardee with 22,727 votes, or 18.56 percent.

Gracie Chamblee finished third with 20,702 votes, or 16.91 percent, falling 2,025 votes short of Hardee for the second available seat.

Brad A. Barefoot finished fourth with 12,006 votes, followed by Caitlin Marsh with 10,944, Luke Smith with 10,870, Christine A. Livingston with 9,797, Travis Allen Floyd with 4,515 and Joe David Austin with 3,952. There were also 1,347 write-in votes.

Langdon, who currently serves as chairman of the Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, has served on the board since December 1994.

Hardee, a Johnston County native and longtime agricultural advocate, joined the board in March 2020. He previously served as North Carolina’s first Farmland Preservation Director with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, retiring from that position in 2021.

The five-member board oversees local conservation efforts involving farmland, soil and water resources. Three supervisors are elected by voters, while two are appointed by the North Carolina Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

Vote totals remain unofficial pending certification by the Johnston County Board of Elections.