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Murphy – With early ballot results showing them each losing by a couple hundred votes, uncertainty swirled around supporters of Steve “Cold Cash” Coleman and incumbent Commissioner C.B. McKinnon.
About an hour after polls closed March 3 in the Republican Party primary, it seemed to be “over.”
“I don’t see overcoming that,” McKinnon said as the gap between he and his challenger widened by another hundred votes.
In the end, two candidates who have never held an elected office walked away from Super Tuesday
victorious.
U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former Cherokee County Veterans Services officer Jan Griggs defeated Coleman, a longtime local Republican Party leader, by a 2,795-2,350 vote. She will face Democratic Party candidate Victoria Bauman in the general election for the District 5 seat on the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners.
Meanwhile, School Resource Officer Randy Phillips defeated McKinnon 2,992-2,170. Phillips will run unopposed in the general election, as George Bendzen did not obtain enough signatures to compete for the District 2 commission seat as an independent candidate.
“I thank all y’all that helped and supported me,” McKinnon said to a group gathered at the GOP headquarters on Valley River Avenue on election night. “Eight years is a good run. We have some work to do yet. So we’ll continue working until it’s time to stop.”
The new commissioners won’t take office until December.
About 33 percent of registered voters in the county participated in the primary, which includes those who cast an early ballot. Participation was about 14 percent higher than the number of voters who cast a ballot during the state primary in May 2018, when the other three county commission seats were up for grabs.
McKinnon received a majority of votes in only two of the 16 precincts: Brasstown and Grape Creek. He lost Marble, his home precinct, by nine votes. Meanwhile, Coleman earned a majority of votes in his home precinct of Grape Creek along with Culberson, Hanging Dog and Topton.
“No one likes to lose, including myself. But with that said, it’s OK,” McKinnon said. “[Phillips] won by a good majority, especially for a primary, so it is overwhelmingly clear that the county is looking for a different direction.
“I wish him the best. I’m sure he’ll do fine.”
McKinnon believes miscommunication regarding Western Carolina Regional Airport in Andrews, Martins Creek Elementary/Middle School and property revaluations contributed to his defeat at the polls. He said he received numerous calls before the election from people who were led to believe he supported selling the airport, closing the school and raising taxes.
“People didn’t understand that their property values going up only meant that the value of the property was higher,” McKinnon said. “I tried to get the message out that my intentions are to lower the millage rate to reach a revenue-neutral figure. If the commissioners go along with me, we’ll lower the millage rate, meaning the county will take in the same amount of (property) tax revenue.
“We got a lot of calls on that, and I think it was all about timing. That’s politics.”
With the nine months he has left in office, McKinnon would like to sell two county-owned buildings downtown, one of which is empty. He’d also like to see the commission decide how to better use the National Guard Armory on James A. Mulkey Drive.
“We need to move our folks out of the old post office building into the armory,” he said. “It’s a wonderful building. You rarely have a well-built building in that good of a shape handed to you. It’s a real opportunity.”
In the 11th Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) decided against running again, 12 Republicans and five Democrats were on primary ballots. For the Democrats, Moe Davis (52,665 votes) was the overwhelming favorite, taking 47 percent of the ballots. Gina Collias (25,213), Phillip G. Price (12,549) Michael O’Shea (12,418) and Steve Woodsmall (8,378) followed.
On the Republican side, it was a tight race between Lynda Bennett (20,510 votes) and Madison Cawthorn (18,418). They were followed by state Sen. Jim Davis (17,400), Chuck Archerd (8,233), Wayne King (7,834), Dan Driscoll (7,768), Joey Osborne (6,420), Vance Patterson (2,228), Matthew Burril (520), Albert Wiley Jr. (389), Dillon S. Gentry (382) and Steven Fekete Jr. (175).
In the race for the N.C. Senate seat in District 50, which includes Cherokee and surrounding counties, state Rep. Kevin Corbin handedly defeated Dr. Sarah Conway 19,991-5,588. He will face Democratic Party candidate Victoria Fox and Libertarian candidate Clifton Ingram Jr. in the general election Tuesday, Nov. 3.
To see the complete 2020 primary election results for North Carolina, visit https://er.ncsbe.gov.