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By LANCE MARTIN

rrspin.com

With all recounts in the North Carolina House District 27 race completed, incumbent Michael Wray said he will not seek further review by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Warren County’s elections board, which met on Monday (March 25), was the last of the three counties in the House district to hold a recount.

As in Halifax and Northampton, nothing changed in Warren County and challenger Rodney Pierce, a Northampton County school teacher and Halifax County native, came out on top by a 34-vote margin.

Wray’s campaign said, “While the margin was incredibly close, the voters have spoken.”

“I have served the citizens of House District 27 for 20 years. I am proud of the work I have done and with every vote I cast, did my best to represent their interests,” Wray said.

“I filed an election protest to make sure that every single vote was counted,” Wray continued. “I fought against every bill in the House that attempted to make voting more difficult so it was important to me to know that all of the votes were counted. The elections boards and staff in Halifax, Northampton and Warren counties reviewed the issues we raised and uncovered votes that reduced the margin in this race. The recount confirmed that margin and the remaining protests would not be enough to overcome it.”

He said of his family, “My family has stood by my side throughout my public service career. They made personal sacrifices so that I could serve in the legislature. I cannot thank them enough and am looking forward to spending more time with them.”

To his supporters, Wray said, “(They) have been incredible. They have been there for me from the beginning and stood by my side during this election. While I am disappointed in the result, knowing that I can always count on them gives me great comfort.

“I don’t know what the future holds for me,” Wray added. “However, I do know that I will continue to fight for the people of North Carolina. God has blessed us and we are truly thankful.”

Pierce said he was grateful to the voters of House District 27 for making him their next representative.

“We have lots of work to do and I am looking forward to it,” Pierce noted.

“I greatly appreciate the careful work done by the staff and members of the boards of elections in Halifax, Northampton, and Warren counties to make sure that every eligible vote was counted. I thank Representative Wray for his years of service. The people have spoken and it’s time to work together to move our district forward,” Pierce concluded.

(Lance Martin is the Editor and Publisher of www.rrspin.com. Permission was received to publish this story.)