Monday brought two election filings that guarantee two more party primaries in March.
Democrat Warren L. Parks, Jr., of 1724 Blackwell Road, Burlington, became the third Democrat to file for county commissioner, ensuring a primary with Sean C. Ewing and Ramona Allen, both of whom filed last week.
Republican Billy Clayton, 2723 Mine Creek Road, Burlington, who retired from the State Highway Patrol, formally filed in a long-expected challenge to Republican incumbent sheriff Terry S. Johnson.
Republicans already had a primary for county commissioner, based on the candidacies of incumbents Kelly Allen and Steve Carter, as well as first-time candidate Jeff Throneburg.
Among other officer-seekers who filed late last week are Republican state senator Amy Scott Galey and Republican state representative Dennis Riddell, who is seeking reelection to North Carolina’s 64th house district. Riddell and Galey both filed their paperwork on Wednesday afternoon, alongside Republican newcomer Ryan Moffitt, a Burlington attorney who hopes to succeed Republican Steve Ross as the legislator for the state’s 63rd house district.
Ross publicly announced his plans to retire from his position on Wednesday morning during a breakfast gathering at Alamance Community College. [See separate story: https://alamancenews.com/state-rep-stephen-ross-wont-run-for-reelection/.] In the meantime, Riddell’s prospective reelection has already attracted a challenge from Democrat LeVon Barnes, who made a failed bid to unseat the 64th district’s incumbent in 2024. This initial showdown ended with Riddell clinching 55 percent of the vote to Barnes’ 45 percent.
Another new entry on the candidate roll is Republican district court judge Craig Turner, who has filed for a superior court judgeship now held by Democrat Andy Hanford. Hanford has previously announced his intention to step down from the bench at the end of 2026 when his current eight-year term comes to a close.
[See separate stories on Hanford’s decision: https://alamancenews.com/breaking-mon-superior-court-judge-andy-hanford-wont-seek-reelection/
and Turner’s subsequent decision to run: https://alamancenews.com/district-court-judge-craig-turner-will-seek-superior-court-judgeship-after-andy-hanford-decides-against-seeking-reelection/ .]
Meanwhile, Democratic superior court judge Doug Green is running for election to the county’s other superior court judgeship, which he originally obtained last year when then governor Roy Cooper appointed him to a vacancy on the superior court bench. The 60-year-old judge is seeking a full eight-year term in his current position. [See separate story: https://alamancenews.com/superior-court-judge-doug-green-plans-to-seek-election-to-full-term-in-2026/.]
Filing for election to a full, four-year term on the district court bench is Republican Bryan Ray, who was elected to a partial (two-year) term in 2024. [See separate story: https://alamancenews.com/district-court-judge-bryan-ray-will-seek-full-four-year-term/.]
Another appointed incumbent who hopes to win her position outright is clerk of superior court Kristie Miller Culler. A Republican, Culler was appointed to fill the two years remaining in the unexpired term of the previous clerk, Meredith Edwards, who was elected to a district court judgeship in 2024. Culler is now running for a full four-year term as Alamance County’s clerk of superior court.
Other incumbents who’ve added their names to the reelection roster include Republican district attorney Sean Boone, who has held this position since 2018, and sheriff Terry Johnson, who’s seeking his seventh consecutive four-year term in office.
A native of Snow Camp, the 75-year-old Johnson has held the position of sheriff since the fall of 2002, when he became the first Republican in living memory to clinch this post in Alamance County.
Also seeking a full term in office is the newly-designated chairman of the county’s board of commissioners, Kelly Allen. Allen, a Republican, was appointed to her seat by the local GOP’s executive committee to replace Craig Turner, who left the board of commissioners in 2024 to take his place on the district court bench.
Her colleague, vice chairman Steve Carter, filed on Friday, as did challenger Jeff Throneburg. The three Republican commission candidates assure that there will be a GOP primary in March, to whittle down to the top two candidates for the fall ballot.
Allen was unanimously selected by her colleagues on Monday to serve as the new chairman of the board of commissioners. [See separate story: https://alamancenews.com/commissioners-unanimously-tap-kelly-allen-as-their-new-chairman/.]
Two Democrats have also filed for the pair of seats that will be available on the board of commissioners this year. These two contenders are Mebane city councilman Sean C. Ewing, who had previously announced his intention to seek the post; and Ramona Allen. Any additional Democratic contenders for the county’s governing board will trigger a Democratic primary for the two available seats, which are both now held by Republicans.
In non-partisan races, Eric Hall is running for a school board seat he received by appointment earlier this year to fill the remaining months left in the term of former school board member Chuck Marsh. Hall filed for a full, four-year term on Tuesday.
Also filing for reelection in the non-partisan school board race is Charles Parker, who was first elected in 2022. And Stephanie Long Enoch also filed this week.
The filing period ends at noon on Friday, December 19.
ATTENTION POLITICIANS: RULES FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE ALAMANCE NEWS
The Alamance News welcomes news from citizens announcing their candidacy for public office in the 2026 elections.
The revised filing season opened Monday, December 1, and closes at noon on Friday, December 19.
A biographical sketch, picture, and brief story will be carried when a candidate complies with the following guidelines:
The announcement must be timed for release on Thursday, the day it is scheduled to appear in The Alamance News.
The announcement must not have been published in any other local newspaper prior to that Thursday of its release in The Alamance News.
The candidate must not have already filed for office, even if he or she has not publicly announced his or her candidacy.
This week’s edition has several announcements that were made by candidates attempting to comply with these parameters, although last week’s paper was printed early (for Thanksgiving).
Inasmuch as a resident’s declaration of candidacy is an entirely discretionary event, the timing of which is within the candidate’s control, The Alamance News is interested to carry such information as news when it is, in fact, both timely and newsworthy.
A political announcement not meeting these criteria will be deemed advertising and run at appropriate advertising rates, subject to payment in advance.
These guidelines apply equally to all candidates – both incumbents and challengers.
Any questions about complying with these guidelines should be addressed to the publisher, Tom Boney, Jr., prior to any announcement.
