After multiple weeks of early voting, a number of primary races affecting Lee County will be decided on Tuesday.
Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voters can find their polling place by looking up their registration details here.
Perhaps the most consequential primary for Lee County residents is the race to be the Republican nominee for North Carolina House District 51. Two longtime area elected officials – Sanford City Councilman Charles Taylor, who has been in office since 2007, and Lee County Board of Education chair Sherry Womack, who has been on the board since 2016 – are seeking to replace Republican Rep. John Sauls, who is retiring after seven terms.
The district covers Lee County and part of eastern Moore, and is rated by Civitas as R+11, or “safe Republican.” The winner of the primary will face Democrat Tashera Nichols McDuffie. April Montgomery is gathering signatures to appear on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate, setting up a possible three way race in the fall.
There are primaries on both sides of the ballot for Lee County’s other state legislative district, Senate 12. Incumbent Republican Jim Burgin faces a challenge from former Harnett County Commissioner Tim McNeill. Democratic voters will choose between Tanya White Anderson and Jheri Hardaway. All of the Senate 12 candidates live in Harnett County. Senate 12 includes all of Lee and Harnett counties, as well as part of Sampson, and is rated by the Civitas Partisan Index as R+9, or “likely Republican.”
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.”
3,618 Lee County voters cast ballot during the early voting period, according to data from the Lee County Board of Elections.