Randy Burton and Elizabeth Craver lose, Jimmy Tate and Andy Devane win in surprising Pender County results

BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — Major changes are on the horizon in Pender County following several surprising results in Tuesday’s primary election.

Current Board of Commissioners Chairman Randy Burton and current County Clerk of Court Elizabeth Craver lost in their bids for re-election.

Burton lost to Ryan Collins, while Craver lost to Camille Harrell, who served as interim clerk of court during Craver’s temporary suspension from February to April of 2024.

During a watch party, Commissioner Jimmy Tate and several other candidates held at Bandana’s in Burgaw, those two races were closely followed.

Burton’s loss comes following several controversies, including being named in a lawsuit by the Pender Topsail Post last year, and the State Bureau of Investigation looking into misappropriation of playground equipment at Kiwanis Park, for which Burton was thanked by a citizen for helping get done.

Meanwhile, despite being acquitted on Tuesday, Craver’s trial and the details from it may have impacted her race’s results.

And these results follow on the heels of concerns about unprofessional campaigns plaguing several other races involving Republicans in the county, like Andy Devane’s win over David Fallin.

Both Devane and  Tate said such tactics have no place in politics.

“I rose above, I did not succumb to any of those shenanigans and I really wanted to set an example for other candidates to actually follow, not just this race, but next race as well,” Devane said. “The GOP needs to get our act right.”

“It was nothing like I experienced today from members who work in the county elections office to members who work in county government to citizens we elect until our whole population has changed,” Tate said. “So in that, it’s brought in a wave of politics like none of us native Pender County-ians have ever experienced, and we don’t like it. It’s extremely low, its people that will go any level to garner a vote.”

Both Devane and Tate won their races: Devane for District 3 and Tate for District 4.

With their wins, they have both essentially secured seats on the board of commissioners, as neither is facing a Democratic challenger.

Another candidate who won their primary and celebrated at the watch party was current Board of Education member Jennifer Hansen.

She said there is one big issue she hopes to continue working on.

“The biggest issue without a doubt with Pender County Schools is you’re just, the county is growing so fast and we’re just trying to keep up with schools and facilities and we’ll just have to see where that takes us,” Hansen said. “But without a doubt, growth is our biggest concern.”

WWAY reached out to Randy Burton, who sent a brief statement: “Folks have spoken, we’ll move on, and I’ll continue to serve until my opponent faces the Democrat challenger in November and my term comes to an end in December.”

WWAY reached out to Craver but did not hear back.