By Sarah Nagem
Voters in Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland counties elected their representatives in the North Carolina General Assembly to new terms.
Every state legislature incumbent in the four-county region who was up for re-election won on Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the state Board of Elections.
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None of the races were competitive, except for the match-up between longtime incumbent Garland Pierce and political newcomer Ralph Carter for the District 48 state House seat representing Scotland and Hoke counties. Pierce won nearly 52% of the total vote, losing Scotland but winning Hoke.
The North Carolina Republican Party sent mailers targeting Pierce ahead of the election, saying he would vote to legalize prostitution and hard drugs. Pierce decried the mailers, saying he never resorted to attack ads during his 20 years in the state legislature.
Pierce’s victory helped break the Republicans’ supermajority in the state House. That means the GOP won’t be able to override vetoes from Governor-elect Josh Stein, a Democrat who handily won on Tuesday.
Here’s a look at the other legislative races in the region:
- Republican Rep. William Brisson will keep his District 22 House seat, which includes Bladen and Sampson counties. He earned 61% of the vote to defeat Democratic challenger Joshua Harrell.
- Republican Rep. Brendan H. Jones ran unopposed for his District 46 House seat, which includes Columbus and Robeson counties.
- Republican Rep. Jarrod Lowery will keep his District 47 House seat in Robeson County. He got nearly 65% of the vote to defeat Democratic challenger Eshonda Hooper.
- Republican state Sen. Bill Rabon will keep his seat in District 8, which includes Brunswick, Columbus and New Hanover counties. He won nearly 60% of the vote to defeat Democratic challenger Katherine Randall.
- Republican state Sen. Brent Jackson kept his seat in District 9, which includes Bladen, Duplin, Jones, Pender and Sampson counties. Jackson won nearly 60% of the vote to defeat Democratic challenger Jamie Campbell Bowles.
- Republican state Sen. Danny Britt Jr. will keep his seat in District 24, which includes Hoke, Robeson and Scotland counties. He won 66% of the vote to defeat Democratic challenger Kathy Batt.
