Dec. 19. Elections for both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly will feature competitive races next year. The candidate filing window closed at noon today.

Beth Helfrich

The two-person race for the N.C. House in District 98 includes incumbent Democrat Beth Helfrich of Davidson and Republican John Rhodes of Cornelius.

Helfrich is serving her first term after flipping the seat from Republican to Democrat in 2024, defeating Melinda Bales with 52% of the vote. She is a bookstore operator and former educator.

Vickie Sawyer

Rhodes previously served on the Cornelius Town Board of Commissioners and represented District 98 in the N.C. House from 2003 to 2007. He lost his final reelection bid to Thom Tillis, now a U.S. senator.

In the N.C. Senate race, incumbent Republican Vickie Sawyer will face Democratic challengers Precinda Bjorgen and Raygan Angel for the District 37 seat. All three candidates are from Mooresville.

Sawyer is serving her first term representing District 37 but previously was elected from Districts 34 and 44. She currently chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and co-chairs the Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee.

The primary election is March 3.