March 6. By Dave Yochum. There were a few noteworthy local results in the primary elections, the Mecklenburg County Commissioner at large contest perhaps the most surprising among Democrats.
Long-time Commissioner Pat Cotham—a frequent North Mecklenburg visitor–came in fourth. The top three at large Democrats were Leigh Altman, Arthur Griffin Jr. and Yvette Townsend-Ingram. As Democrats, they have a superlative chance of winning in the general elections in November.
COTHAM
NC Rep. John Bradford, the Cornelius resident who represents District 98 in the NC House of Representatives, came in third in the GOP primary for the 8th District US House of Representatives, some 10,000 votes behind Mark Harris.
NC Speaker of the House Tim Moore easily won on the Republican side for Congress in the 14th District, which includes Cornelius. He’ll face Democrat Pam Genant in the fall.
Beth Gardner Helfrich, a Democrat, will face former Huntersville Mayor Melinda Bales in the race for NC House District 98, the seat currently held by Bradford.
BRADFORD
Bradford, who started his political career on the Cornelius Town Board, must give up his seat in the NC House later this year.
He said he will catch up on some much-needed rest and “get ready for the legislative short session to wrap up my eight years of service in the NC House of Representatives.”
As of Feb.14, Bradford had spent more than $1.1 million on his campaign according to Ballotpedia, but he was the target of a slew of negative ads.
NC Sen. Natasha Marcus, a Davidson resident who was essentially redistricted out of her seat in Raleigh, easily won the Democratic nod for NC Insurance Commissioner. She will face incumbent Mike Causey in November.
MARCUS
Former NC Sen. Jeff Tarte who previously represented District 41, lost his bid for the GOP nod for State Auditor. The former mayor of Cornelius came in fourth among six Republicans. Republican nominee Jack Clark will go against state auditor Jessica Holmes, the Democrat Gov. Cooper appointed to replace Beth Wood.
Interestingly enough, Wood endorsed Tarte: “Electing any other candidate will set the OSA back years,” she said.
