Democratic incumbent Carolyn Faines swept all three precincts Tuesday to retain her District 1 seat on the Vance County Board of Commissioners, defeating Republican challenger William Heitman, with 56 percent of the vote over Heitman’s 44 percent.
The District 1 seat was the only contested local race on Vance County ballots, with three other commissioners and three school board members running unopposed.
Faines got 1,808 votes to Heitman’s 1,417 votes from those who cast ballots in the Middleburg, New Hope and Community College precincts.
Reached by phone Tuesday night, Faines said she is excited and thankful for another opportunity to serve the county in what will be her third term as District 1 commissioner.
“I thank the citizens for trusting me again,” Faines said, adding that she intends to serve Vance County to the best of her ability and “do what’s right for every citizen,” adding that she hears their voices and their concerns.
WIZS News spoke to Heitman Tuesday night after the results were in, and the challenger said he had sent a congratulatory note to Faines on her victory.
In the time leading up to the election, Heitman said the county’s property tax rate and property revaluation became hot topics of conversation and “called a lot of people out to pay attention.”
He said those issues caused more people to get involved…(and) keep an eye on what the commissioners do and what they vote for.
Here is the breakdown by precinct in the District 1 contest:
Middleburg: Faines 363 Heitman 183
Community College: Faines 153 Heitman 115
New Hope: Faines 1,292 Heitman 1,119
Total voter turnout in Vance County was 69.5 percent, slightly lower than the 2020 turnout of about 71 percent. A total of 20,095 ballots were cast – including 611 mail-in and absentee votes cast, along with 15,637 – more than 54 percent – ballots that were cast during the early-voting period between Oct. 17 and Nov. 2.
Vance County Board of Elections Chairman James Baines provided WIZS News the summary sheet of all 12 precincts by about 9:15 p.m. to confirm the unofficial results of the District 1 race.
Also, by 9:40 p.m., with all 25 precincts reporting, challenger Bryan Cohn had received 182 more votes than incumbent Frank Sossamon for the race for N.C. House District 32, which includes Vance and Granville counties.
Cohn, a former Oxford city commissioner, garnered 60 percent of the total vote among Vance County voters. Cohn got 21,054 votes to 20,872 votes for Sossamon with all 25 precincts reporting.
In the race for N.C. House District 7, which includes a portion of Vance County, Republican incumbent Matthew Winslow is the projected winner, with 26,995 votes, over Democratic challenger Jesse Goslen, who had 20,520 with all precincts reporting.
Republican State Sen. Lisa Stone Barnes held a slim lead over Democratic challenger James Mercer and is the projected winner in the District 11 race, winning with 51.35 percent of the vote to Mercer’s 48.65 percent.
The Henry A. Dennis Building in downtown Henderson is home to the Vance County Board of Elections.