Jonathan Barfield narrowly loses New Hanover County commission seat

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — In a razor-thin race for the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners, longtime incumbent Jonathan Barfield narrowly fell short of securing enough votes to retain his seat.

Preliminary results show Barfield trailing by just 249 votes behind Stephanie Walker, who placed third with 60,306 votes.

The leading candidates were Bill Rivenbark with 61,916 votes and Dane Scalise with 60,599 votes.

Barfield has served on the Board of Commissioners since 2008.

His father, Jonathan Barfield Sr., was the first Black man to serve on the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners since the Wilmington Coup of 1898.

These votes are unofficial until the county canvass.