26 candidates running for Congress seat held by late Walter Jones Jr.

NEW BERN, Craven County (WCTI) — The filing period for those seeking to be elected to the 3rd District Congressional seat left open by the death of Walter Jones Jr. ended Friday at 5 p.m.

According to the Board of Elections, 26 candidates have filed for the position. It came open after the death of Jones on his birthday, Feb. 10. He was 76.

Filing for the 3rd District Congress seat began Monday. The primary elections are scheduled for April 30. If a runoff is needed, it would be held July 9 but only if a candidate doesn’t get more than 30 percent of the vote. The general election would be Sept. 10 unless runoffs are needed.

The order of candidates that will appear on each ballot was determined by the N.C. Board of Elections in a special Facebook Live Friday after the 5 p.m. filing period ended. A drawing determined the names would appear in reverse order from Z to A for each party.

Below is the official list of candidates for each party:

Democratic Party

Allen Thomas, Greenville

Ernest Reeves, Greenville

Dana Outlaw, New Bern

Ike Johnson, Jacksonville

Gregory Humphrey, Beulaville

Richard Bew, Newport

Republican Party

Michael Speciale, New Bern

Phil Shepard, Jacksonville

Eric Rouse, Kinston

Joan Perry, Kinston

Mike Payment, Grandy

Michele Nix, Kinston

Greg Murphy, Greenville

Jeff Moore, Raleigh

Phil Law, Jacksonville

Francis De Luca, Cary

Don Cox, Belhaven

Chimer Clark, Jr., Morehead City

Gary Ceres, Greenville

Celeste Cairns, Emerald Isle

Graham Boyd, Pinetown

Paul Beaumont, Shawboro

Kevin Baiko, Moyock

Constitutional Party

Greg Holt, New Bern

Libertarian Party

Tim Harris, New Bern

Shannon Bray, Apex