Democrats celebrate big election night victories in New Hanover County
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Cheers erupted throughout Savard’s Beer and Board in downtown Wilmington Tuesday night as more than 100 people gathered for the New Hanover County Democratic Party’s election night watch party.
Attendees kept their eyes glued to televisions broadcasting local and national election results, erupting into cheers and applause each time a Democratic candidate took the lead or was declared the winner.
The excitement continued as local results began rolling in, with Democrats appearing poised to secure several key victories across New Hanover County.
In the New Hanover County Board of Education race, Democrat Jerry Jones Jr. received the most votes, followed by fellow Democrats Brittnei LaRue, Margie Gewirtzman and Wendy Dale. All four are projected to win seats on the board.
Republican incumbents Pat Bradford and Josie Barnhart finished with the second-fewest and fewest votes, respectively.
Current school board member Tim Merrick also holds a narrow 101-vote lead over New Hanover County Commissioner Dane Scalise in the race for North Carolina House District 20.
If Merrick’s victory is confirmed following a recount, his departure from the school board would create a fifth vacancy for the New Hanover County Democratic Party to fill.
Democrats also saw success in the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners race.
Incumbent Democrat Rob Zapple led the field with 28.97% of the vote, while fellow Democrat Lashonda Wallace appeared poised to secure the second available seat.
If those results hold, Zapple and Wallace would join Commissioner Stephanie Walker, giving Democrats a majority on the board. Zapple said it would mark the first Democratic majority during his 12 years as a commissioner.
Current Board of Commissioners Chair LeAnn Pierce, a Republican, finished third, followed by Republican Richard Collier and Libertarian Bob Drach.
One of the night’s most closely watched races was for North Carolina Senate District 7, where Democrat Jessica Bichler emerged as the projected winner over Republican incumbent and Senate Majority Leader Michael Lee.
Bichler held a lead of more than five percentage points and said she was eager to begin working on the issues she emphasized throughout her campaign.
“I’m ready to get to work for the things that I ran on,” Bichler said. “We need to make sure our public schools are fully funded, we absolutely have to pass legislation that makes it impossible to pollute our drinking water and the affordability issue is just out of hand. I know that there’s so much we can do if we really think creatively and work from the county level all the way up to the federal level to make sure that New Hanover County has what it needs, not only to survive but to thrive.”
Election results remain unofficial until they are certified by election officials during their canvass meeting on November 13th.
