Counting continues: Lowery, Britt, Rouzer, Mark Harris win

LUMBERTON — As election judges continue to tally votes in some races, some local races were decided in Tuesday’s General Election.

Democrats and Republicans — and a handful of other parties — came together Tuesday night throughout Robeson County to select representatives on the county, state and national level.

On the county level, the handful of county commissioners seeking a return to Robeson County Commission all ran unopposed. Consequently, Wixie Stephens, D-Dist-1; John Cummings, R-Dist. 3; Judy Sampson, D-Dist. 5; and Tom Taylor, R-Dist. 7, will remain on the commission.

The General Assembly race for NC Senate District 24 held the most suspense, with the early vote being counted last and Republican incumbent Danny Britt holding a lead of just a few percentage points over Democratic challenger Kathy Batt. Britt carried the early vote in Robeson nearly two to one, carried the county’s total by a similar margin and won the overall race with 58.8% of the vote late Tuesday night.

“I won Scotland by about nine points too, but yeah, Robeson County controls that district,” Britt said. “It’s nice to have the support I’ve got all over, but Robeson County controls that Senate district, 100%. … I want to thank the voters for coming out and voting for me again, and showing me that they believe in what I’m doing in Raleigh.”

In the district including Hoke, Robeson and Scotland counties, Britt won a fifth term in the state senate. The Lumberton attorney touts his record of promoting economic growth and supporting businesses and conservative values.

“I’m looking to continue to make Robeson County a better place to do business and continue to improve the life and welfare of all the citizens in the state of North Carolina, and Robeson, Hoke and Scotland counties,” Britt said.

Kathy Batt, a Robeson County Democrat and retired veteran, ran on issues that included supporting public education and ensuring voter protections.

“I think I had a really good campaign, I met a lot of people and I’ve got a good base now, and I’m not at all disappointed,” Batt said. “I think I did really well, and I think next time around there’s going to be a different outcome. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the people that are with me. … I think that’s with the incredible support with people who didn’t know me, because I came out of nowhere.”

In NC House District 47, which includes a central and southern part of the state, Robeson County Republican Jarrod Lowery was the favorite and won for a second term. As a Lumbee Tribal member, Lowery has been a proponent of full federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. In his campaign, he said he supported strong worker training programs and economic growth. Lowery was

Lowery’s competitor, Eshonda Hooper, a Robeson County Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for Cumberland County Clerk of Court in 2022, currently serves as CEO of the HoopStar Scholarship Program.

Brenden H. Jones, a Republican, was the incumbent and sole candidate in the race for North Carolina House District 46.

Another race of note on the state level included the NC Attorney General matchup between Dan Bishop, currently representing North Carolina’s 8th district in Congress and Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, representing North Carolina’s 14th district in Congress. As of late Tuesday night, the race was still too close to call, while Jackson had a slight lead of 51.72% withg about 400 precincts still out.

North Carolina voters also selected a new resident for the North Carolina Executive Mansion. Democrat Josh Stein, sitting attorney general who had the backing of exiting Gov. Roy Cooper, garnered the most votes for the governorship, beating the next closest competitor, Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who had 39.8% of the vote as of late Tuesday night.

Most voters from Robeson County threw their support to Robinson with 54.74%.

Federal-level races included 14 House Districts from North Carolina, including US House District 7, which includes voters in Robeson County and a collection of other counties on the northeast and southeast side of the state.

David Rouzer, a Wilmington Republican who has represented North Carolina’s 7th Congressional district since 2015, keeps his seat against challenger Marlando D. Pridgen. Pridgen, a Whiteville Democrat, said he supported increasing the minimum wage and implementing universal background checks for gun sales.

Next door in US House District 8, which stretches from Robeson County west along the state line to the suburbs east of Charlotte, voters tapped Republican Mark Harris, an Indian Trail Republican. Harris returns to politics after he claimed victory in a 2018 congressional race that was overturned due to a ballot-harvesting investigation.

“I just would love to say thank you. It’s been a great night; we’ve had a great celebration here with family and friends and supporters, a couple hundred folks,” Harris told The Robesonian late Tuesday. “We’ve just been very grateful for how it’s all gone, and we’re looking forward to serving the people of the Eighth District. … We’re honored to be going to Washington, and be more than just a vote, we want to be a voice in Washington, D.C.”

His campaign is focused on conservative policies including supporting law enforcement, enacting pro-life policies and private school choice.

“We’re going to deal with the immigration issue that is pressing on so many hearts and minds; we’re going to deal with the economy, extend the Trump tax cuts; we’re going to try to get the energy situation under control, and also be able to put an end to this regulation state that Biden has seemed to develop,” Harris said. “All of those are things that are part of the priorities that we’re wanting to accomplish.”

Harris defeated Justin Dues, a Concord Democrat, who ran on ending partisan gerrymandering and eliminating dark money in politics.

On the national stage, Robeson County voters supported former President Donald J. Trump with 64.89% of votes counted as of late Tuesday night.