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Only a few days remain before filing closes for the upcoming primary election.

Candidates wishing to submit their names have until noon on March 4 to file. The primary, to be held on May 17 this year, will narrow down the field of partisan candidates to one for each party when the general election is held in November.

As of midday March 1, according to the NC State Board of Elections website, the following candidates have filed for local races:

Voters in Bertie County will be casting ballots to fill three Board of Commissioner seats along with the Clerk of Court and the office of Sheriff.

Three Democrat candidates have already filed for a chance to serve as Bertie County’s Sheriff: Tyrone M. Ruffin of Aulander, Timothy Hardy of Windsor, and Greg Atkins of Colerain.

Atkins originally filed for reelection to his seat on the Board of Commissioners, but formally withdrew that last week when he opted to join the Sheriff’s race.

John Holley, who currently serves as Sheriff, announced last year that he would not be seeking reelection.

Candidates filing for Bertie Commissioner seats so far include Michael White of Merry Hill (District 2), Corey Ballance, Sr. of Aulander (District 3), and Ronald (Ron) Roberson of Windsor (District 5). All are Democrats, and Roberson is an incumbent.

Vasti F. James, the Democrat incumbent from Windsor, is currently the sole candidate in the Clerk of Court race.

The Bertie Board of Elections office is located at 210 West Watson Street, Windsor. For more information, call 252-794-5306.

In Gates County, a mix of incumbents and newcomers have filed for seats on the Board of Commissioners so far. There are three open seats on the Board of Commissioners as well as three seats up for grabs on the Board of Education. Residents will also be able to vote for Clerk of Court and Sheriff.

Jonathan T. Craddock, who was appointed to serve the remaining portion of Jonathan Jones’ term after his resignation last year, has filed for the chance to be elected to the Board of Commissioner’s (Eure District) seat. He is a Democrat.

Also filing for the Eure District Board of Commissioner seat is Chris Odom, a registered Republican.

For the Gates District commissioner seat, incumbent Ray Freeman has a Democrat challenger, Brian Keith Rountree.

Jack Owens is currently the only candidate seeking the Gatesville District commissioner seat. He is the Democrat incumbent.

Monica Horton-Wiggins, a Gatesville Democrat, is the sole candidate for Clerk of Court so far.

Ray Campbell of Eure has also filed for another term in the position of Gates County Sheriff. He is a registered Democrat and currently the only candidate in the race.

Several people have entered the nonpartisan Gates County Board of Education race, including Sallie J. Ryan (incumbent, District 1), Ronnie L. Riddick (District 3), Rose Taylor Lee (District 3), Phil A. Kiver (District 5), and Leslie Byrum (incumbent, District 5).

Gates County residents seeking to file can do so at the Board of Elections office located at 931 Main Street, Gatesville. For more information, call 252-357-1780.

In Hertford County, the familiar names of incumbents seeking reelection have been the only people to file so far.

Those candidates include Leroy Douglas of Woodland (Board of Commissioners, District 1), Andre M. Lassiter of Ahoskie (Board of Commissioners, District 2), Shirley Gatling Johnson of Murfreesboro (Clerk of Court), and Dexter A. Hayes of Ahoskie (Sheriff). All are registered Democrats.

Residents of Ahoskie will also be able to cast ballots for Town Council members. This race was postponed from municipal elections in 2021 due to redistricting based on results from the 2020 U.S. Census.

The candidates who have filed so far are Charles W. Freeman (incumbent, Ward A), Roy E. Sharpe (incumbent, Ward B), and David Hunt (Member At-Large).

For interested candidates, the Hertford County Board of Elections office is located at 418 Everett Street, Suite A, Ahoskie. For more information, call 252-358-7812.

Northampton County races include three Board of Commissioner seats, three Board of Education seats, one unexpired Board of Education seat, the Clerk of Court, and Sheriff.

No current members of the Board of Commissioners have filed for reelection as of yet, but several challengers have entered their names. Those candidates include Melvetta Broadnax Taylor of Seaboard (Democrat, District 4), Richie Harding of Pleasant Hill (Democrat, District 5), and Caroline M. Long of Garysburg (Republican, District 5).

Democrat candidate Laquitta Green Cooper, the current Clerk of Court, has filed again to retain her position. She is currently running unopposed.

In the race for Northampton County Sheriff, incumbent Jack E. Smith of Gaston will face off against Tony Burnette of Jackson. Both are Democrats.

A mixture of incumbents and newcomers have submitted their names for Northampton County’s nonpartisan Board of Education race. Those candidates include Lucy M. Edwards of Henrico (incumbent), Catherine B. Moody of Garysburg, Shakila Evette Spruill of Rich Square, Rhonda Taylor of Woodland (incumbent), Marjorie Edwards of Conway (incumbent), and Vivian Plum King-Jackson of Gaston.

Franklin D. Williams of Seaboard and Clinton M. Williams of Garysburg have both filed for a chance to serve out the rest of the unexpired term of former school board member Josephine Dunn, who passed away unexpectedly in Feb. 2021.

The Northampton County Board of Elections office is located at 9495 NC Hwy 305, Jackson. For more information, call 252-534-5681.

In addition to local races, several regional, statewide, and federal races will be on the ballot during the primary as well. With newly redrawn maps, some voters will choose their state representatives in the NC General Assembly in a different district than in previous years.

All four counties of the Roanoke-Chowan area are included in NC Senate District 3. The two candidates who have filed for that race so far are Bobby Hanig, a Republican from Powells Point, and Valerie Jordan, a Democrat from Warrenton.

Bertie County voters are now in NC House of Representatives District 23. Shelly Willingham, a Democrat from Rocky Mount, is the sole candidate in that race so far.

Hertford and Gates County voters are included in NC House District 5. Democrat incumbent Howard Hunter III of Ahoskie has filed for a chance to be reelected. Republican Donald Kirkland of Ahoskie has also filed for the seat.

Northampton County is included in NC House District 27. Republican Wes Tripp of Roanoke Rapids has filed to seek that seat. Democrat incumbent Michael H. Wray of Gaston has also submitted his name for a chance at another term in office.

District Attorney will also be included on the upcoming primary ballot. Bertie, Hertford, and Northampton counties are included in District 7 and currently the only candidate to file for that race is Jamal Summey, a Democrat from Roanoke Rapids.

Valerie Asbell, who has served as District Attorney in that district for the past 21 and a half years, announced on Feb. 28 that she would not seek reelection.

Gates County is included in prosecutorial District 1, where currently only two candidates have entered the race for District Attorney. Those candidates are Jeff Cruden of Kill Devil Hills and Kim Pellini of Moyock. Both are Republicans.

Other races to be included on the primary ballot include US Senate, US House of Representatives, NC Supreme Court Justice, NC Court of Appeals Judges, Superior Court Judges, and District Court Judges. Candidates wishing to file for these races must do so with the State Board at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh.