By Peter Vankevich
Hyde County will have a new representative in the N.C. General Assembly next year as incumbent Keith Kidwell lost the Republican primary on Tuesday to Darren Armstrong, 7,430 votes (52%) to 6,779 (48%).
Kidwell, chair of the N.C. House Freedom Caucus and a four-term incumbent, conceded on his Facebook page: “I called and congratulated Presumptive Representative Elect Armstrong on his victory. Know that I will work with him to bring him up to speed on all projects in process.”
Armstrong, a farmer and business owner from Belhaven in Beaufort County, grew up in Ponzer in Hyde County. In a candidate questionnaire published in the OBX Voice, he emphasized that in the General Assembly he would focus on agricultural and small-business issues.
In Hyde County, Armstrong received 314 votes to 302 votes for Kidwell.
The Hyde County Local Sales and Use Tax Referendum was defeated, 764 to 330. All six mainland precincts voted against the measure; only Ocracoke supported it, 98 to 79 (55%).
In the Republican primary for U.S. House District 1, Laurie Buckhout prevailed in a five-way race:
– Laurie Buckhout: 26,542 (39.52%)
– Asa Buck: 23,137 (34.45%)
– Bobby Hanig: 10,903 (16.23%)
– Eric Rouse: 3,613 (5.38%)
– Ashley-Nicole Russell: 2,967 (4.42%)
Hanig, a strong backer of the commercial fishing and shrimp industries, previously served as the district’s state senator before resigning to run for Congress. He carried Dare County with 3,369 votes (50%) and Hyde County with 251 (41%) but lost decisively to Asa Buck in Carteret County.
In November, Buckhout will face unopposed incumbent Democrat Don Davis. Buckhout narrowly lost to Davis in 2024. The General Assembly’s 2024 redistricting made the seat more favorable to Republicans, even though this northeastern district has been held by Democrats since 1883.
Jerry Tillet won the Republican primary for N.C. Senate District 1, which includes Hyde County, with 7,529 votes (38%). He will face unopposed Democrat Melissa Zehner in November. Cooper received a total of 758,808 votes and Whatley received 404,199.
The major surprise of the primary is Senate President Pro-Tempore Phil Berger is behind Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page by a 2-vote margin: Page 13,077, Berger 13,075. A recount will be most likely.
Hyde County recorded 1,123 ballots cast out of 3,013 registered voters, a turnout of 37%. Ocracoke has 799 registered voters; 254 of them (32%) voted in early voting and on primary day.
The Hyde County Elections Office is holding only seven provisional ballots for review, said elections director Viola Williams. “That’s about average for county elections,” she noted.
Statewide, North Carolina as of March 4 has 7,708,452 registered voters, and 715,789 ballots were cast in the primary, or 19.64%.
To see details of the results, visit the North Carolina State Board of Elections website.
With just a couple of nationwide March 3 primaries, North Carolina and Texas dominated the night’s news with pundits trying to gain insights on the upcoming Nov. 3 elections.
