New Hanover County Commissioner-elect responds to tight race

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — It was a tight race for several elections Tuesday night, including the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.

Republican Woody White led the race with 18%, followed by Republican Patricia Kusek and Democrat Jonathan Barfield with 16%.

The reason this race was so close comes down to third and fourth place. Republican Derrick Hickey and Democrat Julia Boseman also had 16% but were knocked out by just 500 votes.

And because they fall under the 1% margin, the Board of Elections says Hickey and Boseman can call for a recount, but not until after the canvass set for November 18.

WWAY spoke with commissioner-elect Patricia Kusek about the close results.

“You know that’s part of the reason that we work so hard to get people out to vote and work polls,” Kusek said. “Because it ya know winning or losing an election can be you know, simply a factor of a few votes and every vote does count.”

Kusek says she is excited about the results and is looking forward to being sworn in December 5.