By Catharin Shepard • Editor • There was a changing of the guard for the Hoke County Board of Commissioners in the Democratic primary election Tuesday night, with candidate Deborah McMillan-Evans winning more votes than longtime incumbent Commissioner Tony Hunt.

Voters chose to send McMillan-Evans, and incumbent Commissioners Harry Southerland and Allen Thomas through to the election in November on the Democrat ticket.

With all local precincts reporting in Tuesday night, McMillan-Evans received 2,035 votes, or 19.22 percent of the vote, to Hunt’s 1,770 votes, or 16.72 percent of the vote in the commission race.

The unofficial results from the Hoke County Board of Elections showed Thomas carried the vote in the race for three seats on the county commission. Thomas received 2,948 votes (27.85 percent). Southerland was close behind, with 2,680 votes (25.31 percent). Candidate Ricky Locklear received 1,154 votes (10.90 percent).

Deborah McMillan-Evans said she is thankful to the voters, and that she plans to hold a forum in the future so she can continue to listen to voters’ thoughts.

“I am very grateful, and I promise you, everything I wrote in the News-Journal, that is what I promise to do. Lead with integrity. My mind is still made up to move forward and serve Hoke County,” she said.

Thomas thanked the voters who supported him in the primary election, saying “Your confidence and support mean a great deal to me.”

“I now look forward to moving on to the General Election and continuing to campaign on a platform focused on job creation, low taxes, and strong support for our schools and law enforcement,” he said.

“I also want to thank Commissioner Tony Hunt for his 24 years of dedicated service to our community. Additionally, congratulations to Deborah McMillan-Evans on winning the Democratic nomination,” Thomas said. “As we move forward, I hope we can do so united in our shared commitment to strengthening our community.”

McMillan-Evans, Southerland and Thomas will appear on the ballot this fall, when they will face Republican candidates Stephanie Carter and David Frump.

As Stephanie Carter and David Frump were the only candidates from their party to file to seek office for the three available seats, they did not appear on the Republican primary ballot. The Republican candidates will be on the ballot for the commission race in the General Election this November.

The Republican primary election saw a tight race in Hoke County between candidates Dr. Ralph Carter and Kirk Lowery in the contest for the North Carolina State House of Representatives District 48 seat. Lowery narrowly won against Carter in Hoke County with 694 votes to Carter’s 671, while Scotland County voters gave the nod to Carter nearly two to one: 1,429 votes for Carter, 745 votes for Lowery.

With both counties’ results fully reported on election night, Carter clinched the Republican nomination with a total of 2,100 votes (59.34 percent) to Lowery’s 1,439 votes (40.66 percent). Carter will go on to challenge Democrat incumbent Rep. Garland Pierce in the November election.

In Congressional races, a majority of local voters in the Democrat primary supported Richard N. Ojeda II for the U.S. House of Representatives District 9. Ojeda will face incumbent Rep. Richard Hudson in the General Election.

Hoke voters chose former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and Michael Whatley, a Republican, in their respective primaries in the contest for North Carolina’s seat in the United States Senate. Hoke’s votes reflected the trend across the state, with Cooper and Whatley both announcing their victories in their respective primary races Tuesday night.

Other local election results included the following, as reported by the State Board of Elections:

• N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Seat 1 (Republican) – Michael C. Byrne
• N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Seat 3 (Democrat) – Christine Marie Walczyk
• N.C. District Court Judge District 29 Seat 1 (Republican) – Kimberly Furr Davis
• N.C. District Court Judge District 29 Seat 2 (Republican) – Beth Tanner

There are several other local races this year, but some are uncontested.

Incumbent Hoke County Sheriff Roderick Virgil, and incumbent Hoke County Clerk of Superior Court Evelyn McLeod, both Democrats, are running unopposed.

Three seats on the Hoke County Board of Education will be on the ballot in November. As that board is nonpartisan, candidates seeking those seats will file to run for office this coming summer. The three school board incumbents whose seats are up for election are Catherine Blue, Ruben Castellon and Angela Southerland.

Most local precincts reported in by 8:30 Tuesday night, with one precinct, Rockfish, reporting in by 9:20 p.m. All of the results are considered unofficial until the election canvass, which will take place Friday, March 13, 2026.

Turnout was unusually low for a primary election in a midterm year, with only 5,688 voters, or 15.88 percent of Hoke’s registered voters casting a ballot. The majority of voters took advantage of one-stop early voting, with 3,558 people voting early.

Results delayed election night

The results from races across the state were delayed by about an hour on election night, due to a decision by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

“The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously Tuesday to extend voting by one hour – to 8:30 p.m. – at Halifax County’s Littleton precinct…The voting site for this precinct was delayed in opening on Election Day morning due to a synchronization issue with electronic poll books, and backup procedures were not immediately employed,” a press release from the NCSBE said. “With more than 2,600 polling sites statewide, it is not unusual for minor issues to occur at polling sites that result in brief disruptions of voting. The State Board routinely meets to discuss the extension of hours when the need arises on Election Day.”

Due to the extension in Halifax County, the NCSBE had to postpone releasing the results.

“Election officials cannot release results while voting is underway in many contests. The State Board will not publish any unofficial results statewide until all polls are closed,” the press release said. “As such, a large amount of results are expected to be posted at around 8:30 p.m.”

For more information about election results for all contests across North Carolina, visit the North Carolina State Board of Elections website at https://www.ncsbe.gov. Contact the Hoke County Board of Elections with any concerns or questions about local matters, at (910) 875-9062 or email Elections Director Chassidy Chavis at chchavis@hokecounty.org.