The story of democracy is one of hard-fought, hard-won change. And win or lose, working people chose to continue to write that story this year. This municipal election, we had amazing wins and some close losses, but as we always say at Down Home, when we choose to lead, there is so much more to win than just an election.
Regardless of the outcome of any race, the fact that working people ran and fought for our vision makes our movement stronger going forward. Below is a recap of some of our races last night.
On behalf of the Down Home team, thank you to each and every one of these amazing, everyday champions.
⭐🔥 Alamance County - 3 new mayors and a major upset victory
(6 of 7 races won)
In Burlington, we elected longtime Down Home member Beth Kennett to the mayorship with a very sizeable margin, and we also won 1 of 2 city council races, electing Ian Baltutis. With these two wins and Dejuna Bigelow, elected in 2023, we now have a governing majority on the city council and we cannot wait to get to work with them.
In an unexpected upset, Chelsea Glen Dickey won the Graham mayorship by 14 points, ousting a long-time incumbent, Mayor Jennifer Tally. Tally is a behemoth in the Alamance political scene. Now, a progressive, grassroots, working-mom candidate will now be running the second-largest city in our county.
In addition to these wins, we also:
- Elected our very own Bryant Crisp to the Gibsonville mayorship
- Reelected Randy Orwig to the Elon Town Council
- Reelected Patricia Jones to the Green Level town council
♥️ Cabarrus County ♥️ - a big win and two losses
(1 of 3 races won)
Unfortunately, we were unable to elect Justin Lewter to the Kannapolis Town Council. Justin ran a fantastic campaign and worked hard this year. We also did not win a city council seat for our member, Jayne Williams. If you know these two people, please reach out. They are some of our best members and should be congratulated on hard-fought races.
Over in Midland, our member Issac Davis ousted an incumbent and is set to shake up the Midland City Council as he becomes the first black councilor in the town.
✊ Rowan County ✊ - former Down Home fellow and first black councilman elected
(1 of 3 races won)
In Salisbury, we helped elect Gemale Black to the city council! This is huge as Gemale was in our first class of fellows in 2022 and is set to be the first black city councilor in Salisbury.
💯Franklin County 💯 - a clean sweep!
(6 of 6 races won)
In Franklin County, our chapter continued its winning streak from last month and won every single race it endorsed, including:
- Ebony Hartsfield-Thorne for Bunn Board of Commissioners
- John Allers for Franklinton Town Commission
- David K. Rosby for Louisburg Town Council
- Betty Keith Wright for Louisburg Town Council
- Christopher Neal for Mayor of Louisburg
- Will Stolz for Youngsville Board of Commissioners
While our folks in Franklin are a new chapter, they continue to model what a strong multiracial movement can do in our cities and small towns.
💪 Person County - a win for the people
(1 of 1 races won)
In the city of Roxboro, we elected Kendra Coggins to the City Council.
🌼 Granville County - holding the Oxford City Commission
(3 of 4 races won)
In Oxford, we re-elected Guillermo Nurse and won 2 of 3 endorsed city commission seats! Scotty Brooks won re-election, and Down Home member Karen McGhee won her place on the commission.
❤️🔥 Johnston County ❤️🔥 - Big wins and some mixed results
(3 of 6 races won, with 1 race still outstanding)
In Johnston County, we elected Franky Echols to the Archer Lodge Town Council, Tasha Neal to Kenly Town Council, and Doris Louise Wallace to the Smithfield Council, removing an incumbent.
🎯 Pitt County 🎯 - making gains on the Greenville City Council
(3 of 4 races won)
In Greenville, our members helped Portia Willis and Tonya Foreman keep their seats and elected Arjenae Jones to District 1 to remove an incumbent.
📝 Wilson County 📝 - a historic win for Wilson
(1 of 1 races won)
In Wilson County, Eduardo Herrera-Picasso won his seat by a huge margin AND became the first Latino on the Wilson City Council. Many citizens now have a council member who represents them and understands their experiences.
There are many folks who ran this year who are not listed above, but to every single candidate, thank you for taking a stand. Last night, our members celebrated, and today we are back to work, planning how we will move forward to continue building power in 2026 and beyond.
This was a momentous election night for working people across North Carolina, and especially several members of our Candidate Academy class of 2025! Together, we are building rural working power.
The news may seem hard on some days, but please take a moment to celebrate your fellow Down Homies and know that when we fight, we always win.
