New Hanover County Democratic Party holds straw vote for 2025 election candidates

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The New Hanover County Democratic Party held a straw vote on Tuesday to help determine who the Party will support for Wilmington City Council and mayor later this year.

The party used a similar process back in 2023, where precinct and other local leaders within the party cast votes for candidates.

The party says this kind of event is important because of a previous election where 4 democrats ran for county commissioner.

One lost their race by a small margin because some people voted for the fourth candidate.

The three city council candidates chosen tonight were JC Lyle, Cassidy Santaguida, and Chakema Clinton-Quintana, all women.

Party chair Jill Hopman said this is a great opportunity to add as many as 3 women to the city council.

“I mean, I think that would be amazing to have a female majority on city council,” Hopman said. “It would be great to break the glass ceiling like that here in Wilmington. I think it’s most important though, regardless of gender, regardless of race, regardless of anything, is who are these three candidates and what policies do they support and how are they going to make Wilmington better for every single person who lives here?”

Mayor Pro-Tem Clifford Barnett was also on Tuesday’s ballot, with his current term on the city council ending this year.

In the mayoral race, the party backed Mayor Bill Saffo by a large margin over former County Commissioner Jonathan Barfield Jr.