Valencia Perry unseated incumbent Archie Taylor in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election for the District 2 seat on the Vance County Board of Commissioners.
It was a fairly close contest through the evening as the county’s 12 precincts reported, and WIZS News was able to call the race for Perry by 9 p.m. Perry had 251 votes to Taylor’s 213. Perry got more votes than Taylor in each of the precincts in District 2, according to tallies Tuesday night by the Vance County Board of Elections.
The other local race determined on Super Tuesday was the District 5 Board of Education race. Incumbent Linda Cobb successfully defended her seat by defeating challenger William Earl Purvis 308 to 138 – that’s 69 percent for Cobb and 31 percent for Purvis.
WIZS News contacted Perry by phone Tuesday evening after the results were in. “I thank everyone who voted for me,” Perry said. “I’m so grateful… I will be proud and humble to serve the people of Vance County.”
On the campaign trail, Perry said she heard concerns about schools, mental health and the county jail – issues that she also had emphasized as priorities.
“The people came out and voted for me,” she said. “They listened to me and they gave me a chance.”
Taylor congratulated Perry on her win and said he would support her any way he could.
“I wish her all the best going forward,” he said in a phone interview with WIZS News Tuesday.
First elected in 2012, Taylor said he would continue to serve on the boards he’s on to the utmost of his abilities.
Between now and December, when Perry will be sworn in as District 2 Commissioner, Taylor said he would continue to work with his fellow commissioners on issues including the budget, on the revaluation process and “this revenue neutral business with the taxes.”
After the polls closed at 7:30 p.m., results rolled in smoothly to the local board of elections office through the evening.
A total of 5,656 votes were cast in Vance County – 3,338 Democrat ballots and 2,305 Republican ballots were tallied. There are 28,296 registered voters in the county, so 5,656 represents roughly 20 percent that came out to vote in this primary election.
This overall voter turnout is lower than the previous two March primaries – turnout in March 2020 was 24.6 percent. In March 2016, almost 32 percent of voters cast votes.
— UPDATED 10:38 p.m. March 5, 2024
By Laura Gabel. John C. Rose contributed.
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