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Crowded fields have emerged for Cherokee County Board of Education seats in 2026 elections, with two unaffiliated candidates announcing runs for the at-large seat and one unaffiliated candidate coming forward for one of two District 3 (Hiwassee Dam) seats.
Unaffiliated candidates have until noon Tuesday, March 3, to gather 976 signatures from verified registered voters to qualify for the general election ballot Tuesday, Nov. 3.
At-large seat (1)
The single at-large seat is occupied by school board member Steve Coleman, who is not seeking re-election and instead is running for a seat on the board of commissioners.
Two candidates face off in the Republican primary on March 3 for the at-large seat: Stephen Dartez, 45, an Andrews restaurant owner, and Randy Phillips, 66, of Marble, a retired Cherokee County school resources officer and former county commissioner.
There are no Democrats running in the primary. However, two candidates could run as unaffiliated candidates on the November ballot against the Republican primary winner.
Thomas “Tom” Beasley and Philip “Flip” Watson have submitted petitions to qualify for the ballot as unaffiliated candidates.
Beasley, 50, is a resident of Andrews. Watson, 73, of Murphy, is a retired educator and coach with more than 30 years experience working with Cherokee County Schools.
District 3 seats (2)
Republican Incumbents Shannon Raper, 49, of Hiwassee Dam, and Jason Murphy, 38, of Unaka, are running for re-election for the two District 3 seats (Hiwassee Dam). Raper has worked with Cherokee County Schools and the sheriff’s office, while Murphy is a police officer in town.
Challenger Gary Butler, 66, of Hot House, is also running in the Republican primary.
Retired business owner Joy Stein, 65, of Hiwassee Dam, is running unopposed in the Democratic Party primary.
Carmen Garland intends to collect enough signatures to qualify for the November general election as an unaffiliated candidate for the District 3 seat. Garland, 56, of Culberson, retired last year as principal of Peachtree Elementary School.
The top-two vote getters in the Republican primary will be running against Stein and Garland in the November general election.
District 2 seat
District 2 school board incumbent Jeannie Gaddis, 80, of Hanging Dog, a retired teacher, is running against challenger David Ricks in the Republican primary. There are no other candidates.
Ricks, 53, of Marble, is code enforcement official for Cherokee County and married to tax assessor Theresa Ricks.
Absentee voting
North Carolina’s 100 county boards of elections Monday started sending absentee-by-mail ballots to registered voters who requested a ballot for the 2026 primary election.
This marks the start of voting for North Carolina’s March 3 primary election. Voters who have already requested absentee-by-mail ballots should receive them in the coming days.
In North Carolina, any eligible voter can request, receive and vote an absentee ballot by mail. The absentee ballot request deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 17, to vote in the March 3 primary.