The two N.C. House races that Vance County voters will see on their ballots in March include some familiar names – in District 32, former legislator Frank Sossamon is facing off against Pamela Ayscue, and Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott is looking to take the upper hand against her primary challenger to move to the general election in November.
Sossamon was elected to the House District 32 seat in 2022 but lost to Bryan Cohn in 2024. Cohn did not seek re-election for the 2026 contest.
Sossamon and Ayscue will be on Republican ballots; Elliott and Curtis McRae filed to run in the Democratic primary. The winners of each primary will vie for the seat in the November mid-term elections.
The District 7 race has Mark Speed, a Democrat from Louisburg, facing Republican challenger Cory Thornton, also of Louisburg.
District 32 includes all of Granville County and a little more than half of Vance County; District 7 includes all of Franklin County and some of Vance County.
In the N.C. Senate District 11 contest, incumbent Lisa Barnes, a Republican, is seeking to retain her seat, facing challengers James Gailliard, a Democrat from Rocky Mount and Libertarian Gavin Bell from Kittrell.
District 11 includes all of Vance, Franklin and Nash counties.
The primary will be held March 3, 2026; the general election follows on Nov. 3, 2026.
