Democrats retain majority in Wake County school board election, win seven of 9 seats

Wake County voters kept a Democratic majority on the school board, but elected two new conservative members on Tuesday.

The school board races are officially non-partisan, but candidates backed by the Wake County Democratic Party were leading in seven of the nine board seats with all precincts reporting Tuesday night.

Voters elected Democratic board members Chris Heagarty, Monika Johnson-Hostler, Lindsay Mahaffey and Tara Waters, who was appointed in March to fill a vacant seat.

Democratic newcomers Lynn Edmonds, Sam Hershey and Tyler Swanson were also leading in their respective races.

The election of Republican-backed candidates Cheryl Caulfield and Wing Ng will lead to a new conservative minority that’s expected to fight over issues such as what books should be allowed in school libraries.

“I’m excited we’re going to retain some institutional knowledge on the board and we’re going to get five fresh new members,” Mahaffey, the school board chairwoman, said in an interview Tuesday night. “I hope we can work collectively together to do what’s best for the students in the district.”

The results came the same night that voters also overwhelmingly approved a $530.7 million school construction bond referendum.

Liberal candidates campaigned on issues such as increasing school funding, supporting teachers and promoting the new equity policy.

Conservatives had hope to win a majority on issues such as concerns over the decline in test scores, fears about school safety and complaints about graphic books in school libraries.

There will be major turnover when board members are sworn into office in December. Five of the nine board members (Karen Carter, Roxie Cash, Christine Kushner, Jim Martin and Heather Scott) did not run for reelection.

All nine board seats were on the ballot. That will change with board members returning to four-year, staggered terms after this election.

’Rejected hate-filled rhetoric’

Control of dozens of North Carolina school boards were being decided during this midterm election.

According to EdNC, a majority of the board seats are on Tuesday’s ballot in 44 North Carolina school districts. That’s more than a third of the state’s school districts.

Just like in Wake, which is North Carolina’s largest school district, conservative groups mounted a nationwide effort to win school board seats this year.

“We all felt a little bit of concern because of the national trends we’re hearing about,” Mahaffey said. “But we had to push and fight and get our names out there. You have to reach out to voters, and the voters in each district got to make their decision.”

One of the most watched school board races in Wake was in District 9, which represents much of Cary. The seat is open because Carter didn’t seek reelection.

Michele Morrow drew the support of conservatives with positions such as having been among the protesters in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021 who were denying that Donald Trump had lost the presidential election. Morrow is a homeschool parent and former nurse.

Morrow has apologized for tweets calling for Islam to be banned and for Muslims not to be allowed to hold political office in the U.S.

Morrow’s main opponent was Swanson, a former Wake teacher who has promoted how he was arrested in the Moral Monday protests in Raleigh against the GOP-led General Assembly.

David McLennan, a political science professor at Meredith College in Raleigh, said the District 9 election would serve as a bellwether for how well Republicans do in school board elections statewide.

Swanson had 55.6% of the vote. Morrow received 35.8%. Tara Ann Cartwright finished a distant third with 8%.

“It shows the voters of District 9 have rejected hate-filled rhetoric,” Swanson, a campaign strategist for a nonprofit, said in an interview Tuesday night. “They rejected someone whose views were a threat to our schools, teachers, schools and communities. I’m grateful that the district has trusted me to lead.”