Filing for the 2026 elections ended on Friday, and there will be a number of contested races on the ballot in Lee County next year – both in the general election and the March primary.
Statewide and judicial races aren’t included in this story.
At the federal level, incumbent Congressman Brad Knott, who represents North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, will face a primary challenge from Morrisville Republican Sid Sharma. On the Democratic side, Sanford native Paul Barringer will face fellow Democrats Alexander Nicholi (Raleigh) and Frank Pierce (Raleigh) in the primary. Libertarian Steven Swinton, also of Sanford, is also in the race. The 13th Congressional District covers all of Lee, Harnett, Johnston, Franklin, Person, and Caswell counties, and parts of Wake and Granville counties. The Cook PVI report for 2025 lists NC-13 as R+9, or “solid Republican.”
There will also be primaries for both seats in Lee County’s delegation to the North Carolina General Assembly.
In Senate District 12, four-term incumbent Republican Jim Burgin will face a challenge from Tim McNeill, a former Harnett County commissioner. Democrats Tanya White Anderson, who ran in 2024, and journalist Jheri Hardaway will face one another in a primary for their party’s nomination. Senate 12, which the Civitas Partisan Index rates as R+9, or “likely Republican,” includes all of Lee and Harnett counties, and part of Sampson County. All four candidates in the race are from Harnett County.
In House District 51, Republicans Charles Taylor, who has served on the Sanford City Council since 2007, and Board of Education Chairman Sherry Womack will face off in a primary to replace outgoing Representative John Sauls, who did not file for a seventh term. The winner of the primary will face Cameron Democrat Tashera Nichols McDuffie. House District 51 is rated by Civitas as R+11, or “safe Republican.”
There will be two contested races for the Lee County Board of Commissioners. District 1 incumbent Robert Reives Sr., a Democrat who has served since the 1990s, faces a challenge from Republican Louis Williams, who sought a seat on the Sanford City Council this year against Democrat Linda Rhodes. District 1 encompasses parts of central and eastern Lee County, including much of the Sanford city limits.
In District 4, which covers western Lee County and parts of the western Sanford city limits, Republican Eric Davidson, a current member of the Lee County Board of Education, and Democrat Jamey Laudate, a former member and two time candidate for the school board, will square off to replace Republican Taylor Vorbeck. Vorbeck announced recently that she would not seek re-election, citing issues within her own party.
Incumbent Republicans Kirk Smith (District 2) and Andre Knecht (District 3) did not draw challengers for their seats.
On the Lee County Board of Education, incumbent Republicans Chris Gaster and Alan Rummel both filed for re-election, and are joined on the ballot by newcomer Marc Mason. Democrat Patrick Kelly, who served two terms on the board before losing a re-election bid in 2024, also filed. Voters will be able to choose three candidates for the at-large seats; the top three vote getters will be seated. Because Kelly was the only Democrat to file, Republicans are guaranteed to maintain partisan control of that board.
Neither Republican Sheriff Brian Estes nor Democratic Clerk of Superior Court Susie Thomas drew opposition and will run uncontested.
Click here for a full list of candidates that will appear on Lee County ballots in 2026, including judicial and statewide seats.
Primaries will be held on March 3. The general election is on November 3.