Voters across Eastern North Carolina weighed in on races for sheriff, county commissioner, school board and other local offices Tuesday, with several close contests still awaiting certification.
Unofficial results from the North Carolina State Board of Elections show incumbent sheriffs maintaining substantial leads in several counties, while races for county commissions and school boards produced some of the region's closest margins.
Among the contests to watch are a Craven County school board race separated by just 111 votes, a close Hyde County school board election and a Greene County commission race with fewer than 300 votes separating the candidates.
Close races in Craven, Greene and Hyde counties
In Craven County, Sheriff Chip Hughes leads challenger Mickey Tillman by more than 7,000 votes, with Hughes receiving more than 24,000 votes.
Joshua Whitford leads the county commissioners' District 1 race, Jason Jones leads in District 2, and Theron McCabe holds a narrow lead over Sherry Hunt in District 5.
The school board District 4 contest is even closer. Cleopatra Hargett-Lawton leads Jennifer Dacey by just 111 votes, making it one of the closest local races in the region.
In Greene County, Tammy Jennette leads Jerry Jones in the county commissioners' District 3 race by fewer than 300 votes.
Tyrone Sutton Jr. and Ray Johnson ran unopposed in the county's other commission races, while Sheriff Matt Sasser also faced no opposition.
Hyde County voters also produced a close school board contest. Andy Holloway leads Dustin Nails by just 84 votes in the at-large race.
Sheriff Guire Cahoon leads challenger Odell Williams, 1,126 votes to 811.
The county commissioners' Currituck Township race drew hundreds of write-in votes, although the election-night results do not identify the write-in candidates.
Sheriffs lead in several contested races
Incumbent sheriffs across Eastern North Carolina generally maintained strong leads Tuesday.
In Carteret County, Sheriff John Nyberg leads challenger Franklin Rice by nearly 10,000 votes, with Nyberg receiving approximately 22,000 votes.
Beaufort County Sheriff Scott Hammonds also holds a substantial lead over Corey Dixon, receiving nearly 13,000 votes compared with about 6,800 for Dixon.
In Martin County, Sheriff Drew Robinson leads Marvin Hilliard with more than 5,500 votes to Hilliard's approximately 3,500.
Tyrrell County Sheriff Major Shively leads Joey Elliott, 854 votes to 491.
In Duplin County, Sheriff Eric Southerland received more than 9,000 votes, while approximately 3,600 write-in votes were recorded.
Several other sheriffs ran without opposition, including Paula Dance in Pitt County, Chris Thomas in Onslow County, Jackie Rogers in Lenoir County, Chris Davis in Pamlico County, Matthew Wineman in Jones County, Arlo Norman in Washington County, Rodney Rawls in Dare County, and Clee Atkinson in Edgecombe County.
County commission races across the region
Several county commission contests drew attention Tuesday.
In Onslow County, Tim Foster, Whitney Cantrell and Royce Bennett are the top 3 vote-getters in the county commissioners' race.
Foster received more than 27,000 votes, followed closely by Cantrell and Bennett.
In Pitt County, Rodney Harris leads Benji Holloman in District 4, Dennis McLawhorn leads Mark Smith in District 5, and Gary Weaver leads Blake Price in District 6.
In Beaufort County, Ed Booth and John Edwards are the leading candidates in the county commissioners' race.
Pamlico County's at-large commission contest has Doug Brinson and Derek Potter leading the field, followed by Jennifer Sanders Williford.
In Washington County, Melinda Porter leads Jonathan Sawyer in the at-large commissioners' race, receiving more than 2,800 votes compared with about 1,700 for Sawyer.
In Dare County, Ervin Bateman leads Aida Havel in the at-large commission race by more than 2,400 votes.
In Martin County, Joe Ayers leads the Western District commissioners' race, followed by Ronnie Smith and J.C. Edwards Jr.
Duplin County's Dexter Edwards leads in commissioners' District 2, while Justin Edwards ran unopposed in District 3.
In Jones County, Lou Miller, Brittney Meadows, Jack Bender, Zach Simons, Harvey Rouse Jr. and Ashley Norris lead their respective contested county commission races.
Edgecombe County's commission contests show George Thorne, David Batts and Larry Woodley leading their respective races.
School board races bring competitive contests
In addition to the close races in Craven and Hyde counties, several school board contests drew competitive fields.
In Onslow County, Angie Todd leads the school board race, followed by Bill Lanier and Doug Davis.
In Pamlico County, Erik Smith leads Jamie Gibbs by more than 800 votes for an at-large school board seat.
In Lenoir County, John Wiggins leads Merwyn Smith by more than 700 votes in District 2.
Beaufort County's school board results show Monica Davis leading Danielle Brinson in District 6, while Jennifer Cox Cornelius leads Elise Ross Manning in District 8.
In Dare County, Stephen Nichols leads Kelleta Govan in the school board District 1 race.
Several school board candidates in Martin and Washington counties ran without opposition.
Other local election results
In Edgecombe County, Carol Allen White leads Lisa Preku Webb in the race for clerk of superior court.
White received more than 12,000 votes, compared with about 5,400 for Webb.
Tyrrell County Clerk of Superior Court Angie Etheridge Sexton ran unopposed.
Voters also decided several local ballot measures.
In Dare County, voters rejected a proposed local sales and use tax increase, with more than 11,000 votes against the proposal and approximately 7,000 in favor.
In Duplin County, voters in the Natural Wells Fire District rejected a proposed fire tax, 327 votes to 269.
Meanwhile, voters in Grifton, Jones County and Pollocksville approved separate measures expanding mixed beverage sales.
Grifton voters approved the measure 482 to 309.
In Jones County, the countywide referendum passed with 2,512 votes in favor and 1,251 against.
Pollocksville voters also supported expanded mixed beverage sales, 89 to 32.
Results remain unofficial
All results are based on North Carolina State Board of Elections data from Tuesday, November 3.
County election officials must complete their canvass, including reviewing eligible absentee and provisional ballots, before certifying the results.
Close contests, particularly the Craven County school board District 4 race, Greene County commissioners' District 3 race and Hyde County school board election, could be affected by additional ballots counted during that process.
