After race gets physical in Bladen County, voters make clear choice in House District 46

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) – One of the seats in our area is open this year after Democrat Ken Waddell decided not to seek another term in House District 46, which covers Columbus and parts of Bladen and Robeson counties.

The race to replace Waddell got ugly last month, when Republican Brenden Jones and Democrat Tim Benton filed assault charges against each other.

Jones said Benton sucker-punched him at a public event a couple weekends ago over a political mailing.

Benton denied he punched Jones, but would not be bullied by the GOP.

With all 40 precincts reporting, Jones is the unofficial winner after getting 19,446 compared to Benton’s 11,705.