Incumbents Win School Board Race
SMITHFIELD – Johnston County voters returned three incumbents to their seats on the Board of Education.
Incumbents Lyn Andrews, Kay Carroll, and Ronald Johnson were reelected to their respective seats. April Lee was elected to the fourth open seat.
In unofficial results from Tuesday’s election, Mr. Carroll defeated challenger Jason Shuler in District 3. Carroll received 55,138 votes (54.2%) to Shuler’s 45,999 votes (45.2%). There were 564 write-in votes. Carroll was the top vote getter among the four winners.
In District 6, chairman Lyn Andrews easily won, defeating Rick Walker. Andrews received 53,101 votes (54.1%) compared to 44,431 for Walker (45.3%).
In District 7, incumbent Ronald Johnson outpaced Jeff Sullivan with 50,126 votes (50.4%). Sullivan received 48,448 votes (49.0%). 509 write-in ballots were cast.
In District 4, April Lee, who ran a strong grassroots campaign, handily won the seat. Lee received 54,855 votes (53.4%), upsetting her challenger David Spain who had 47,348 votes (46.1%). There were 428 write-in ballots.
Voters Approve Two School Bonds
Citizens approved two Johnston County school bond referendums on Tuesday.
Voters approved a $120 million general obligation bond for Johnston County Public Schools to pay for new school construction and renovation projects. 63,783 people (56.75%) voted in favor of the bond, while 48,610 voted against its passage (43.25%).
A $30 million general obligation bond for Johnston Community College passed by a vote of 61,078 for (54.26%) to 51,492 against (45.74%), in unofficial results.
Uncontested County Commissioner Races
Four Republican candidates won election to the county commission board. Michelle Pace Davis was unopposed in District 1 and will replace retiring Commissioner Fred Smith who did not seek reelection. She received 84,375 votes.
Incumbent Commissioner Ted Godwin was unopposed in District 2. He received 73,460 votes. Incumbent Commissioner April Stephens was unopposed in District 4 and received 83,395 votes.
Commissioner Bill Stovall received 81,221 votes in District 6.
Judicial Seats
Eight district court judges had their names on Tuesday’s ballot. All were unopposed for their respective District 12 seats. They included Judge Jason Coats (84,062 votes), Judge Jillian Pope (83,502 votes), Judge Craig James (68,485 votes), Judge Terry Rose (83,110 votes), Judge Jimmy Love Jr. (82,319 votes), Judge Mary Howard Wells (82,698 votes), and Judge Brian Lewis (82,398 votes).
NC House
NC House District 26 Representative Donna White (R) carried 55.2 percent of the vote total defeating Democratic opponent Matthew Wood who had 41.7 percent support. Libertarian Kevin Terrett finished in third place with 3.1 percent. In unofficial returns, White had 29,804 ballots, Wood 22,507, and Terrett 1,710.
In the District 28 House race, incumbent Republican Larry Strickland was returned to office carrying 69 percent of the total vote count over Democratic opponent Tawanda Shepard. In unofficial results, Rep. Strickland received 28,763 votes. Shepard received 12,947 votes.
NC Senate
Incumbent NC Senator Benton Sawry overwhelmingly defeated his two opponents at the polls on Tuesday.
In the race for the District 10 seat, Senator Sawry, a Republican carried 58.9% of the total votes cast (70,427), over Democratic opponent Felicia Baxter’s 37.6 percent (44,999 votes), and Libertarian Christopher Session with 3.5 percent (4,295 votes).
Other Results
Johnston County voters backed Donald Trump for US President. The Republican Donald Trump – JD Vance ticket received 74,490 votes in Johnston County compared to 47,728 votes for the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz Democratic ticket.
Josh Stein won the statewide race for NC Governor however his opponent Mark Robinson narrowly received the most votes for governor among Johnston County voters. Robinson received 57,475 votes in the county, slightly more than Stein who had 57,182 in unofficial results. Statewide, Stein, a Democrat, won the race for NC Governor with 55 percent support.
Incumbent Charles Hill was reelected as Johnston County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.
