Williams-Boykin leads Commissioner race by 2 votes over incumbent Dowe

By Ena Sellers

Duplin Journal

After voting concluded on March 5, the unofficial results for Duplin County primary elections show Democratic Candidate Mary L. Williams-Boykin, taking the lead for the County Commissioner District 4 seat with 302 votes, only two more than incumbent Jesse Dowe who received 300 votes in the contested race.

Incumbent Elwood Garner took the lead in the Republican race for District 1 County Commissioner with 66.91% of all votes against Republican candidate Cindy Lee Sallis who received 33.09% of the votes. Commissioner Garner will be on the General Election ballot in November, as of press time he will be running unopposed to retain his seat as District 1 County Commissioner and says he is looking forward to serving the citizens of Duplin County for another four-year term. 

“I’ve got to first thank the voters of District 1 for their support in the election. It was pretty humbling to get roughly 67% of the votes. And thank my wife and family for their continued support, because while I was trying to campaign, I left my wife doing a lot of other stuff at home,” said Commissioner Garner. 

According to Jasmine Gadsden, Duplin County Board of Elections director, as of last Friday they had 6 ballots that came in on Election Day left to process along with Provisionals. 

“Election Day totals were 5,129 in-person voters,” said Gadsden, adding that they had 1,882 early voters and “ended with a total of 39 [absentee-by-mail votes] that we have already processed.” 

The Duplin County Board of Election will conduct their canvass meeting on March 15, certifying all votes have been tabulated and counted. In North Carolina after the results have been certified, a candidate can call for a recount if the difference between the votes is no more than 1% of the total. It is unknown whether Commissioner Dowe will request a recount, the Duplin Journal was unable to reach him for comment.

The official election results will be announced after the state board of elections does their canvass on March 26.