Spread the love

By Charlotte Smith

Many candidates and supporters were nail biting during this General Election. There were some residents that went to bed Tuesday evening wondering if their candidate would pull through to the winning side.

Many incumbents and candidates took to social media after the race was over. Re-elected Sheriff Jim McVicker stated, “I just wanted to thank each and every person that has supported me during this election. I absolutely could not have done it without the support of the amazing people of The Mother County!” He continued, “My sleeves are already rolled up and I am ready to continue to work hard for YOU the citizens of Bladen County!”

His Democratic opponent, Hakeem Brown said, “I would ask that as citizens of Bladen County, you will continue to support the Sheriff’s Office.” He added, “Bladen County, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Re-elected Register of Deeds, Beverly Parks announced, “I want to say, “Thank you” to everyone that supported me throughout this election. Your votes counted!” Parks said, “I am truly proud to be an elected official of Bladen County and I will continue to serve ALL of the citizens of the Mother County to the best of my ability. “God is Good!”

Jason Britt who ran as the Republican for the Register of Deeds seat announced his appreciation to all his supporters and congratulated Parks on her victory.

The local County Commissioners races were of interest to many. Incumbent Democrat County Commissioner for District 3, Russell Priest kept his seat by 233 votes over challenger Republican Wayne Edge.

Charles Ray Peterson also kept his County Commissioner District 2 title with a victory of 2,771 votes over his opponent Dawson Singletary collecting 1,496 votes.

Incumbent County Commissioner for District 1, Arthur Bullock had no challengers in this race and received 2,878 votes.

The Bladen County Board of Education At Large race winners are as follows: Republican Dennis Edwards won a seat with 5,060 votes, Democrat Cory L. Singletary won a seat with 2,989, and Democrat Vince Rozier kept his seat with 2,685 votes.

Bladen County Board of Education Democrats Roger Carroll and Alan West had no opponents and kept their elected seats.

Clerk of Superior Court had no challenger for incumbent Democrat Niki S. Dennis and received the most votes in the Bladen County General Election with 9,994 votes.

Democrat Kenneth Clark took the Bladen County Coroner race with no opponents and received 9,272 votes.

Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor had two seats open. Earl Storms took the lead with 6,689 votes with Charles Wendell Gillespie taking second place with 5,026 votes.

District Attorney, Republican Jon David was re-elected and had no challengers during the General Election.

The Bladen County Sales and Use Tax failed to pass yet again. The tax has been on the ballot numerous times with a large number of votes always against the tax.

North Carolina State Constitutional Amendments were a hot topic during the campaign season.

Four were voted to be added in the Constitution and two were voted against being added in to the Constitution.

The Judicial Merit Commission and the Ethics and Elections Board suggested Amendments were voted down during the general election. The Hunt, Fish and Harvest Amendment, Crime Victims Protection Amendment, the Income Tax Amendment, and the Voter Photo ID were all voted to be added to the NC State Constitution as Amendments.

Around 9 p.m. the race for U.S. House District 7 had Kyle Horton, Democrat, taking the lead over incumbent David Rouzer. However, after all the votes were collected Rouzer was re-elected.

Rouzer said, “It’s an honor and privilege to be re-elected to serve the citizens of the 7th District. This race was a referendum on the great progress being made for this country and our district. The economic turnaround our nation has experienced the past two years proves that policies based on conservative principles work. I am humbled to have the opportunity to continue to fight for the principles that made this country great and serve the citizens of this district.”

Though all the votes have not been announced as of Wednesday morning the following results were in for Bladen County’s reporting precincts:

Mark Harris, Republican won the race for U.S. House District 9. Harris announced his gratefulness for all the hard work and support shown to him during the campaign.

The Associated Press has not confirmed Harris’ win nor has Harris made an official statement on vote totals as of press time.

Incumbents, Republican William Brisson, N.C. House District 22 and Republican Bill Rabon with N.C. Senate District 8 remain in office with their General Election victories.

After all 17 of 17 precincts reported their totals to the local Elections hub at the Bladen County Superior Court room, congratulations and condolences were given out and the crowd quickly vanished.

The 17 precincts did announce the following totals with the Judges elections:

SUPREME COURT ASSOCIATE JUSTICE SEAT 1	VOTES
Anita Earls (D)	5,683
Barbara Jackson (R)	4,999
Christopher Anglin (R)	1,815
COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE SEAT 1	VOTES
Andrew T. Heath (R)	1,770,508
John S. Arrowood (D)	1,821,853
COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE SEAT 2	VOTES
Tobias Hampson (D)	1,734,117
Jefferson G. Griffin (R)	1,273,173
Sandra Alice Ray (R)	552,504
COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE SEAT 3	VOTES
Chuck Kitchen (R)	1,684,185
Allegra Katherine (D)	1,741,195
Michael Monaco Sr. (L)	164,738
DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 13 SEAT 1	VOTES
W. Fred Gore (R)	63,036
DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 13 SEAT 2	VOTES
William F. Fairley (R)	60,418