Buncombe County Follows Independent Election Course

By Nelda Holder

As the tallies poured in after the November 4 general election, unofficial returns indicated a new record for overall voter turnout in a midterm (nonpresidential year) election.

Some 2,915,988 ballots cast set the high-water mark for the state, besting the 2010 numbers by more than 215,000 statewide. The percentage of registered voters exercising their right, however, was only 44 percent – the same as in 2010. Buncombe County topped that rate by almost 2.5 percent.

The returns also showed that voters across North Carolina were in a largely Republican-picking mood. But Buncombe County voters ran a reverse play on that scenario to become—in the color metaphor of politics—a small blue lake in the vast red landscape of Western North Carolina.

County voters rejected two sitting Republican members of the General Assembly. Rep. Tim Moffitt, rumored to be in line to become the next speaker of the NC House, and Nathan Ramsey, former chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, were replaced by Democratic newcomers Brian Turner (District 116) and John Ager (District 115).

A third member of the NC House, veteran Rep. Susan Fisher (D), ran unopposed in her district and returns to the legislature for a sixth term. And Sen. Terry Van Duyn (D), appointed in 2014 following the death of longtime Sen. Martin Nesbitt (D), won her first formal election, giving Democrats a 4-to-1 edge in the Buncombe County delegation. The sole Republican member, albeit a powerful one, is six-term Sen. Tom Apodaca, whose base is Henderson County but whose district includes the southern edge of Buncombe County. (Apodaca chairs the Senate’s Ways & Means and Rules Committees, among other key assignments.)

“These wins indicate voters’ objection to legislative micromanaging of city affairs,” said Fisher when asked about the Democratic wins in the delegation. “The people voted in support of education and teachers, they voted for environmental protection, and they clearly demonstrated that they would not be bullied by election law changes.”

Rep. Chuck McGrady (R), reelected for a third term in neighboring Henderson County, had a different point of view regarding Buncombe County’s new delegation. “With the exception of a small piece represented by Sen. Apodaca,” he pointed out, “all of the legislators are in the minority party. It might be difficult.” When the county or possibly the city of Asheville needs something done in a heavily Republican legislature, he noted, “Who’s going to carry it for them?”

U.S. Senate and House Races

Ballots for the Legislature weren’t the only deviations from statewide totals. Voters here gave 56.9 percent approval to U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan (D) against her opponent, NC Speaker of the House Thom Tillis (R). Tillis was elected by a slim (less than 2 percent) margin to replace Hagan in Washington, but he received only 39.02 percent of Buncombe County’s votes, with Libertarian candidate Sean Haugh garnering the remaining 3.96 percent in the county.

And in the two U.S. congressional districts that stretch into Buncombe County, Republican incumbents Patrick McHenry (District 10) and Mark Meadows (District 11) retained their seats. Buncombe County voters, however, gave Democratic challenger Tate McQueen an edge of 65.28 percent to 34.72 percent over McHenry.

Local Seats and Offices

Democrats took two of the three open seats on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, returning incumbents Brownie Newman (D), who had no opposition in District 1; and Ellen Frost (D), who won a close contest (less than 2 percentage points) in District 2 against Christina Merrill. Republican Miranda DeBruhl won the District 3 seat, defeating unaffiliated candidate Nancy Waldrop by 9 percent.

And Buncombe’s blue wall extended to contests for sheriff, with incumbent Democrat Van Duncan returned to office by a large majority over Mike Bustle (R). And unopposed incumbent Steven Cogburn (D) was re-elected as clerk of Superior Court.

In neighboring districts, however, Republican McGrady won a heavily favorable return in Henderson County’s state legislative District 117, while in the closely watched District 118, Yancey County’s Michelle Presnell (R), won a second term by less than 3 percent. Veteran Haywood County legislator Joe Sam Queen (D) was re-elected in District 119 by more than 5 percent.

The Nonpartisan Races

In the local nonpartisan races, newcomers Max Queen (Enka District) and Cindy McMahon (Reynolds District) were elected to the Buncombe County Board of Education, with McMahon defeating the vocal and sometimes controversial incumbent Lisa Baldwin by around 9 percentage points. Incumbent Pat Bryant was returned to the Erwin District seat in a close three-way race.

William Hamilton and incumbent Elise Israel won election as supervisors for the Buncombe Soil and Water Conservation District, defeating challenger Alan Ditmore.

Judicial races in Buncombe County District 28 saw incumbent Judge Ed Clontz returned to office with 52.87 percent of the vote in a race against J. Matthew Martin. Incumbents Susan Dotson-Smith and Julie M. Kepple ran unopposed.

State Judiciary and the Constitutional Amendment

On the state level, appointed incumbent Judge Mark Martin won election as chief justice of the NC Supreme Court. Four open seats on the state Court of Appeals went to John M. Tyson, Lucy Inman, Donna Stroud, and Mark Davis. Supreme Court Associate Justice Cheri Beasley’s race against Mike Robinson appears to have fallen within the range for a potential recount (less than or equal to 5 percent of votes cast), which will be Robinson’s call as the losing candidate.

Finally, the “for” or “against” vote on an amendment to the NC Constitution that appeared at the end of the 2014 ballot was decided by only 78,096 voters. The mostly unheralded option addressed a criminal defendant’s right to waive trial by jury (in felony cases) and have the case decided by a judge alone. The amendment passed by a slim margin, 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent. It will mean that North Carolina joins the other 49 states in offering this option to defendants—although it can be exercised only with the approval of the judge.

The voting statistics in this article were provided by the NC Board of Elections and are unofficial results. Results will not be official until after the state canvass on November 26, 2014.