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Candidates for key elected positions have started to come forward for the scheduled municipal elections in November and Cherokee County’s primary elections in March 2026.
Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith said Saturday he is planning to run for re-election. So far, he will face Chris Wood, who recently announced his candidacy.
Andrews Mayor James Reid said he is running for re-election so he can finish projects and manage grants the town has already received or applied for.
Murphy Mayor Tim Radford said he is still deciding whether to run again.
2025 elections
The candidate filing period for the 2025 partisan and nonpartisan municipal elections begins at the opening of business Monday, July 7, for county boards of elections, and ends at noon Friday, July 18, unless otherwise stated in a municipal charter or session law.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Andrews and Murphy board elections are non-partisan and will be held in November. Three seats on the Andrews Board of Aldermen are on the ballot – those occupied by Reid as well as Aldermen Brandi Smith and Steve Jordan.
All seats on the Murphy Town Council, formally known as the board of commissioners, will be on the ballot, including the seat left vacant when former council member Keisha Dockery resigned in August 2024.
2026 elections
A non-presidential-election year is 2026, but it will include a U.S. Senate race for the office held by Republican Thom Tillis and U.S. House races, including the District 11 office held by U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.).
Cherokee County’s 2026 primary ballot will include:
- Board of Commissioners seats held by Dan Eichenbaum (District 4), Ben Adams (District 3) and Cal Stiles (District 1).
- Board of Education seats held by Steve Coleman (at large), Jeannie Gaddis (District 2), and Jason Murphy and Shannon Raper (District 3).
- Sheriff, held by Smith.
- Register of Deeds, held by Karen Mintz Wright.