A flurry of last-minute candidate filings has provided an even more crowded Republican primary field for county commissioner and sheriff, as well as a GOP primary for clerk of court. The filing period ended at 12:00 noon.
A Democratic primary for county commissioner was already guaranteed with three candidates seeking the two nominations to be on the fall ballot.
There were no new filings on Monday or Tuesday, but on Wednesday, Henry Vines filed for the two open seats on Alamance County’s board of commissioners. Peter Boykin of Mebane filed on Thursday.
Also filing Wednesday was a Democratic candidate for Alamance County district attorney, Scott Wells Drorbaugh of Liberty, who seeks to face two-term incumbent D.A. Sean Boone, a Republican who filed earlier this month.
Thursday saw the addition of Dana Byrd Pasour filing for the Republican nomination for sheriff; she will face incumbent sheriff Terry Johnson who has held the job since 2002 and challenger Billy Clayton, a retired state trooper who once served as the N.C. Highway Patrol’s second in command. Pasour’s filing means the three Republicans will face off in a March primary.
On the Democratic side, no one filed for sheriff. There is widespread discussion about a potential unaffiliated candidate who is seeking to gain petitions to get on the November ballot.
Legislative races
In the state house race for district 63, two newcomers will face each other. Republican Ryan Moffitt had filed shortly after state rep. Steve Ross announced on December 3 his intention not to seek reelection. Democrat Whitney Olive of Burlington filed for the seat last week.
Previous entries for partisan offices include Republican state senator Amy Scott Galey and Republican state representative Dennis Riddell, who is seeking reelection to North Carolina’s 64th house district.
Riddell’s prospective reelection attracted a rematch 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.
Democrat Southey Blanton of Burlington filed on Friday to challenge Galey in November.
County commissioner race will have both Republican and Democratic primaries
The race for Alamance County’s board of commissioners also became more competitive when Warren L. Parks, Jr. joined fellow Democrats Ramona Allen and Sean C. Ewing in their pursuit of the board’s two available seats. With three Democrats in the running for these two positions, the party will have to hold a primary on March 3 to select its two nominees for the county’s governing board.
The GOP race for county commissioner had previously reached this same threshold when local homebuilder Jeff Throneburg and incumbent commissioner Steve Carter added their registrations to that of Kelly Allen, an appointee to the board of commissioners who currently serves as its chairman. Since then, Henry Vines has also filed.
Also joining the Republican fray for county commissioner on Thursday was Peter Boykin of Mebane, who was an unsuccessful state house candidate in 2018 and 2022 and for lieutenant governor last year.
ABSS school board
There aren’t any provisions for a primary in the race for the nonpartisan Alamance-Burlington school board, which will have three seats on the ballot in next year’s general election.
All three incumbents – Charles Parker, Dan W. Ingle, and Eric Hall – filed, as well as five additional candidates. All will be on the November general election ballot. Ingle and Parker are seeking their second terms on the school board; Hall is pursuing his first full, four-year term, having been appointed to the school board earlier this year to replace former school board member Chuck Marsh.
Also seeking one of the three school board seats are Stephanie Long Enoch of Green Level, Samira Khan of Burlington, Katharine Frazier of Burlington, Kyle Ward of Graham, and Brandy Whittaker of Burlington. Whittaker was an unsuccessful Burlington city council candidate in 2023 and also applied for the appointment to the school board earlier this year that was awarded to Hall.
Judicial candidates have no opposition
All three judicial candidates in the county face no opposition. Two superior court judicial candidates drew no challengers.
Republican district court judge Craig Turner 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.
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.
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. No one filed to challenge him, either in the primary or from the Democratic Party.
GOP primary for clerk of court
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.
While Culler escaped any Democratic challenge, she did draw a Republican challenger, Steve McGilvray a magistrate judge and former Graham police officer.
