List: Election results from the Triad and High Country

Election totals are in for a variety of races in the Triad and High Country. Below are select unofficial results. A full list can be found on the North Carolina Board of Elections website. 

Forsyth County Races

Forsyth County Board of Commissioners

Republican incumbents on the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will retain their seats, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election. 

Current board members Richard Linville, Gloria Whisenhunt and Gray Wilson bested Democratic challengers Marsie West, Valerie Brockenbrough and Curtis Fentress. 

Linville, the top vote-getter, has served on the board since 1980. Whisenhunt, who came in second, was first elected in 1996. Wilson was appointed earlier this year to replace longtime commissioner Dave Plyer.

Their wins mean the board will retain its current party makeup of four Republicans and three Democrats.

Winston-Salem City Council

Incumbent Winston-Salem Councilmember Republican Robert Clark will keep his seat representing the city’s West Ward. According to complete but unofficial results, Clark bested Democrat Christopher Smith with nearly 51% of the vote. Clark has served on the Winston-Salem City Council since 2001. 

Democrat Regina Hall defeated Republican Jimmy Hodson for the Northwest Ward seat. According to complete but unofficial results, Hall received 64% of the vote to Hodson’s 36%. She’ll succeed Jeff MacIntosh, who decided not to seek reelection after serving on the council for over a decade. 

Winston-Salem Mayoral

Longtime Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines appears to have won reelection and a seventh term. Joines has 96% of the vote. Joines faced a write-in campaign from JoAnne Allen, one of the candidates he defeated in the March Democratic primary. But write-ins account for just over 4% of the vote.

Joines announced his decision to run again back in early 2023. No Republicans filed to run for the office. 

Soil and Water District Supervisor 

Winston-Salem State University professor Lei Zhang lost to Edward Jones in the race for Forsyth County Soil and Water District supervisor. According to complete but unofficial results, Jones bested Zhang with 63% of the vote. 

The non-partisan position is one of five on the county’s Board of Supervisors, which is tasked with preserving the district’s natural resources. 

Guilford County Races

Guilford County Board of Commissioners

Three incumbent Republicans won re-election to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. 

In District 4, Commissioner Mary Beth Murphy defeated Republican Tony Jacobelli, receiving 54% of the vote. She was first elected in 2020, the same year Commissioner Carly Cooke won the District 5 seat. Cooke bested Republican challenger Reese Walker with 60% of the vote. 

Commissioner Brandon Gray-Hill retained his District 6 seat with 56% of the vote, defeating Republican Maritza Gomez. Gray-Hill was first appointed to the board in 2023 to fill the vacancy left by former commissioner James Upchurch's abrupt resignation.

Guilford County Board of Education 

Incumbent Guilford County Board of Education Member Michael Logan lost to Democrat David Coates for the District 3 seat. According to complete but unofficial results, Coates received 45% of the vote to Logan’s 43%. Unaffiliated candidate Bill Goebel finished third with 11%.

Incumbent Democrat Deborah Napper defeated Republican candidate Cara Dohner for the District 5 seat. Napper, who joined the board in 2020, received 59% of the vote to Dohner’s roughly 41%. 

The other incumbent candidate, Democrat Bettye Jenkins, defeated Republican candidate Karen Albright for the District 7 seat. With all precincts reporting, Jenkins received 80% of the vote to Albright’s 20%. 

Jenkins also joined the board in 2020, and currently serves as the vice chair. 

Guilford County Sales Tax Referendum

Guilford County voters rejected a proposed quarter-cent sales tax referendum. According to complete but unofficial results, 60% of voters were against the referendum. 

The proceeds were earmarked for increasing pay for teachers in the public school system. 

Watauga County Races

Watauga County Board of Education

Alison Carrol Idol, Charlotte Mizelle Lloyd and Adam Hege were the top vote-getters in the Watauga County Board of Education race, with each receiving about 18% of the vote.

They defeated the incumbent Marshall Ashcraft, as well as Chad Cole and Tom Ross according to complete but unofficial results.

Alison Carroll Idol, who served on the Watauga Education Foundation Board, came in first, followed by Mizelle Lloyd, a guardian ad litem. Hege, an associate professor at Appalachian State University, came in third. 

Watauga County Board of Commissioners

Republicans will take control of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners with the loss of incumbent Democrat Charlie Wallin to Republican Ronnie Marsh. Marsh won with about 60% of the vote, with all six precincts in the district reporting. 

Two other incumbents, both Republican, retained their seats. Braxton Eggers defeated unaffiliated candidate Jon Council, and Todd Castle defeated  Democrat Sue Sweeting, according to complete but unofficial results.

Democrats currently hold a 3-2 advantage on the board, but with Marsh’s win the GOP will have a one-seat margin. It’s the first commissioners’ race since the legislature changed Watauga’s format from all at-large seats to single-district ones.

Watauga Board of Commissioners Ballot Measure

Watauga County voters appear to have approved a measure to change the way its board of commissioners is elected.

With all 20 precincts reporting, the vote for the change is 71%, with 29% against. The current method requires all candidates to live in one of the five county districts. Previously, they were elected on an at-large basis.

The ballot measure divides the county into three equal districts but also includes two at-large seats.