MANTEO, N.C. — Voters across Dare County, which is run from the county seat in Manteo, turned down a new quarter-cent sales tax on Tuesday and returned Republican Ervin Bateman to his at-large seat on the Board of Commissioners. All precincts had reported by late Tuesday, and the totals stay unofficial until the canvass.
The tax question lost by 24 points, 62% to 38%. Money from the extra quarter cent was set aside for recreation facility upgrades. Across the county line in Currituck, a similar quarter-cent measure tied to infrastructure and public safety went down by an even wider spread, 65% to 35%.
Bateman held off Democrat Aida Havel 56%-44% in the lone contested commission race. Dare County runs on a commissioner-manager system with seven elected commissioners serving staggered four-year terms, so the board keeps its current makeup.
Turnout reached about 52% of the county’s 33,000 registered voters, with early ballots and Tuesday ballots counted together.
Two open school board seats went to Republicans. In District 1, Stephen Nichols won a tight race over Democrat Kelleta Govan, 53%-47%. In District 3, Rich Shope took 78% of the vote against a write-in candidate whose name was not printed on the ballot.
Further up the ballot, Republican Jerry Tillett, appointed earlier this year to finish a vacated term, kept the District 1 state Senate seat with 55% over Melissa Zehner. Republican Ed Goodwin won the District 1 state House race over Democrat Miriam Rollin, 60%-40%.
The county generally leans Republican in state and national contests, yet the 1st Congressional District is among the most competitive in North Carolina. That held true again: incumbent Democrat Don Davis led Republican Laurie Buckhout 49% to 47% with every vote reported.
Section: More Outer Banks NC politics news
Filed under: Outer Banks NC Politics News
