David Brown
The Dec. 19 deadline to file for 2026 elections has passed and there were a few surprises, with relative newcomers running for office alongside veterans of the local political scene. There will be a rush to the Republican Party primary on Tuesday, March 3, and after that several Democrats signed up to run in the Tuesday, Nov. 4, general election, making 2026 one of the most contested election years in recent memory.
While there are some seats that only one candidate filed to seek – the incumbent – there are still several notable races with competition that deserve your close attention before casting a ballot:
- Three people are running for sheriff in the Republican primary – incumbent Dustin Smith, Samuel May and Chris Wood. The winner will run unopposed in the general election.
- The Cherokee County Board of Education, District 2 (one seat), will have Republican incumbent Jeanne Gaddis meeting David Ricks in the primary.
- The Cherokee County Board of Education, District 3 (two seats), will have Republicans Gary Butler, Jason Murphy and Shannon Raper running in the primary, with the winner facing Democrat Joy Stein in the general election.
- The Cherokee County Board of Education, at-large (one seat), has two candidates in the Republican primary – Stephen Dartez and Randy Phillips.
- The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, District 1, has a rematch between incumbent Cal Stiles, Jeana Conley and Steve Jordan in the Republican primary. The winner meets Democrat Rex Cable in the general election.
- The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, District 3, will not have an incumbent, as Ben Adams declined to seek re-election. Steve Coleman, the at-large member of the school board whose term ends in December 2026, and Mark Stalcup will meet in the Republican primary, with Democrat Judith Bodley facing the winner in the general election.
- The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, District 4, will have incumbent Dan Eichenbaum facing off with three challengers in the Republican primary – Barry Killian, Sue Lynn Ledford and Tom O’Leske.
In state races, there are no primary challenges. State Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican, will meet Democrat Tom Downing in the general election, while Democrat Caleb Brown will challenge state Rep. Karl Gillespie, a Republican.
To remind readers of the importance of local elections, in 2021 the Cherokee County Board of Education and Cherokee County Board of Commissioners narrowly voted to provide the local match for a grant to build a new consolidated high school in Peachtree. However, in elections later that year, one seat flipped on both boards, turning the majorities against the project. As a result, our county is still without a new campus, while Franklin is building a high school.
If you think the county has done more good things overall since 2012, then you can vote to keep the two longest-serving incumbents in office – Stiles (four terms) and Eichenbaum (three terms). However, if you don’t think that’s the case, there are some quality candidates to choose from.
Among the challengers, if you’d like to see schools get a higher priority, three have spent careers working in education. If you prefer experience, three have served on elected boards. Four candidates spent years serving in law enforcement, several working in private business and one with county government.
This is not the year to vote for people just because you know them. Do the research and find out what the candidates stand for, the kind of people they are and whether they truly understand the most important local issues. Voting for the right people in 2026 will mean the difference between making progress over the next four years or running in place.
Regardless of its importance, the folks running for office do not deserve hate mail and threats. They do deserve our utmost respect for desiring to serve our community in often thankless positions.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. Call him at 828-837-5122 or email dbrown@cherokeescout.com.