In North Carolina, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles is running for re-election in the Democratic primary on September 10, 2019. Four opponents—Roderick Davis, Tigress Sydney Acute McDaniel, Joel Odom, and Lucille Puckett—are challenging her in the primary. The winner will advance to the general election on November 5 and face the Republican nominee, David Michael Rice. Rice was the only Republican candidate who filed to run, and he advanced automatically to the general election.
Here are the five Democratic primary candidates:
- Mayor Vi Lyles won her first two-year term in 2017 after defeating the sitting incumbent, Jennifer Roberts, in the Democratic primary. Lyles won the general election against her Republican opponent with more than 59% of the vote. On September 2, The Charlotte Observer reported that only Lyles’ campaign had cash on hand as of the most recent campaign finance reports.
- Roderick Davis, who works as a business manager, previously campaigned for Charlotte mayor in 2015, Charlotte City Council in 2017, and state senate in 2016 and 2018.
- Tigress Sydney Acute McDaniel, who works as a consultant, previously campaigned for Greensboro City Council in 2013 and both Mecklenburg County commissioner and soil and water conservation district supervisor in 2018.
- The 2019 primary is Joel Odom’s first time running for office.
- Lucille Puckett, who works as a community advocate, previously campaigned for the Charlotte school board in 2005, Charlotte mayor in 2013 and 2017, and state house in 2018.
As of September 4, the mayors of 62 of the country’s 100 largest cities are affiliated with the Democratic Party. Republican-affiliated mayors hold 30 offices, independents hold four, and mayors with unknown party affiliations hold the remaining four.
All 11 seats on the Charlotte City Council are also up for election in 2019. A partisan primary is scheduled for 10 of the 11 seats on September 10. The other seat, District 6, had its primary canceled since only one candidate from each party filed to run. Charlotte is the largest city in North Carolina and the 17th-largest city in the U.S. by population. The only other municipality in North Carolina that could have had a September 10 primary was Sanford in Lee County. However, their four city council primaries were also canceled due to the number of candidates who filed from each party.
In 2019, Ballotpedia is expanding its coverage of North Carolina in order to provide voters with a comprehensive statewide sample ballot. This coverage includes North Carolina elections spanning 503 cities, towns, and villages, nine school districts, and 17 special districts. No North Carolina counties are holding elections in 2019. Most North Carolina localities are holding nonpartisan general elections on November 5, although 32 are holding either nonpartisan primaries or general elections on October 8.
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