The Robeson County Board of Commissioners is now ruled by Republicans for the first time in history after three members switched political parties. The move underscores a deeper political shift that has been building in the county for years.
Faline Locklear Dial, Lance Herndon and Judy Sampson changed their party affiliation from Democrat to Republican last week. The switch gives Republicans a 6-2 majority on the board, which is responsible for setting tax rates, funding local schools and more.
The commissioners’ switch might not come as a shock in Robeson County, where voters have increasingly supported Republican candidates. The county was a Democratic stronghold for more than a century, but many voters say the Democratic Party no longer represents their values, particularly when it comes to social issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
Barack Obama won Robeson County in 2008 and 2012. Donald Trump won the county in the next three elections, growing his support to 64% last year. The county saw the biggest shift toward Trump in the state in 2024, data from the North Carolina Board of Elections shows.
Republicans have also seen success in Robeson County in state elections. Voters there helped elect Danny Britt to the state senate in 2016, making him the first Republican to hold the seat since the Civil War. Republican Jarrod Lowery defeated the incumbent Democrat in 2022 to represent Robeson in the state House.
The three commissioners said their party switch does not represent a change in personal values. They said they changed parties to better represent the ideals of their constituents.
They join fellow Republican commissioners John Cummings, David Edge and Tom Taylor. Board Chair Pauline Campbell, who represents Fairmont, and Wixie Stephens of Lumberton are Democrats.
“My ideology hasn’t changed,” said Herndon, vice chair of the board, who was first elected in 2009. “I’m still the same guy I’ve always been, and I hope to represent Robeson County as I always have.”
Republicans have been gaining momentum in much of rural America for years, but Robeson County’s racial diversity makes it unique. Nearly 42% of the county’s 118,000 residents are Native American, about 24% are Black and about 30% are white.
Republican and Democratic presidential candidates have tried to woo the Lumbee, whose 50,000 members make up the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River. Trump, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris all said they supported full federal recognition for the tribe, which has its headquarters in Robeson County and was granted partial recognition by Congress in 1956.
After Trump took office in January, he ordered the Department of the Interior to submit a plan within 30 days outlining potential paths to full federal recognition for the tribe. The Lumbee have long sought the designation, which would bring in millions of dollars a year for education, health care and other services. Such a plan has not been made public.
Locklear Dial and Sampson are members of the Lumbee tribe. They are the first Lumbee Republican women to serve on the Robeson County Board of Commissioners.
“I want to be the best representative for my constituents as possible,” Locklear Dial said in a statement. “This change does not impact my standards in making sound decisions for Robeson County, and I look forward to continuing to serve my district as county commissioner.”
Voting precincts with a majority of Native American voters have steadily increased their support for Republicans. In the Burnt Swamp precinct, between Red Springs and Lumberton, 97% of registered voters are Native American. The precinct picked Obama in 2008 and 2012 with 53% of the vote both years. In 2016, it picked Trump with 68% of the vote. Support for Trump increased to 79% in 2020 and 82% in 2024. Other strong Native American precincts like Prospect and Oxendine reflect the same growing support for Republicans.
Voter turnout across Robeson County, however, is very low. Fewer than 60% of eligible voters there cast ballots in 2024, compared to 73% statewide. Robeson had the worst turnout rate in the state for the fourth consecutive presidential election.
Still, Republicans tout their progress.
“I don’t think that the Republican Party has hit its ceiling yet in Robeson County,” said Cutler Bryant, communications director for the Robeson County Republican Party. “I think we continue growing in the county, especially among Lumbee voters in the county, who are the voters that are really fueling that shift.”
Democrats still outnumber Republicans in Robeson County, but there has been a major shift. Registered Democrats make up 41% of the electorate, down from 71% 10 years ago. Registered Republicans increased from 12% to 21% of the electorate in that time, and unaffiliated voters increased from 18% to 37%.
“I expect to see the continued sea change in not just voting habits, but registrations as well,” Lowery said. “The Robeson County Republican Party welcomes all to join as we move our county in the right direction.”
Republicans also made significant inroads last year in neighboring Scotland County, where voter turnout was 64%. They gained a 5-2 majority on the commissioners’ board for the first time in modern history. In nearby Bladen County, Republicans swept the ticket.
“I don’t in any way think it was an individual candidate,” Darrell “BJ” Gibson, who lost his seat on the Scotland County Board of Commissioners in November, told the Border Belt Independent at the time. “I don’t think the voters necessarily wanted me specifically out of office; they wanted the Democrats out.”
Some Democratic organizers say the party has struggled to connect with rural voters. They point to declining voter turnout and say many residents feel overlooked by statewide campaigns and disconnected from the party’s messaging.
“There are systems in place that lead folks to believe voting doesn’t matter,” Barbara Rogers, a Democrat on the Laurinburg City Council, told the BBI in February 2024. “There is a thinking that we are all just on the bus to get to what has already been decided for us.”
Local Republican leaders say the changing tides reflect long-held beliefs among voters.
“This shift isn’t about partisanship—it’s about finally aligning with the conservative principles that our community has lived by for generations,” said Phillip Stephens, chairman of the Robeson County Republican Party.
In the 2024 presidential election, Harris won only one district in Robeson County, near South Lumberton. Trump won by 40 points in Sampson’s district, 37 points in Locklear Dial’s district and 20 points in Herndon’s district.
Sampson, who was first elected in 2020, represents District 5 in northern and central Robeson County, including parts of Red Springs. The district has steadily increased its support for Trump, from 52% in 2016 to 70% in 2024. It has become the second-most Republican district in the county since 2016, according to data from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
“I firmly believe that this change will enable me to more accurately reflect and serve the interests of our constituents, which include faith, family, freedom, and fiscal responsibility,” Sampson said in a statement.
To local Republican leaders, the growing support among Lumbee and rural voters isn’t just a trend; it’s a sign that the party’s message is resonating more deeply across communities once considered out of reach.
“We’re not overlooked anymore,” Bryant said. “And that’s because the Republican Party has paid attention to our needs in the county. More working-class people, more rural communities, racially diverse communities are shifting towards the Republican Party because they realize that their values are better reflected.”
