Open seat: sitting at-large commissioner Sally Greene did not file for re-election, per the Daily Tar Heel. Karen Stegman won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary over Adam Beeman with about 77 percent of the vote, per the Daily Tar Heel, and faces Republican Jeffrey Hoagland on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Karen Stegman · Democratic▾
Stegman is a consultant on non-profit strategy and development with about 25 years of community-development, education and public-health work, including with the Orange County Family Resource Centers, per IndyWeek. She served two terms on the Chapel Hill Town Council before running for the Orange County Board of Commissioners, per her campaign site.
Priorities: Expanding access to affordable housing, per IndyWeek · Addressing inequities in the property tax valuation process, per the Daily Tar Heel · Effective use of the 2024 school bond, per the Daily Tar Heel
Jeffrey Hoagland · Republican▾
Hoagland is an engineer running for the Orange County Board of Commissioners at-large seat; it is his third campaign for elected office in three years, per NC Newsline. No campaign website was found for him as of this county's certified filing period. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Jeffrey Hoagland.
Priorities: Making sure law enforcement is properly staffed, trained and funded · Fiscal restraint on county tax increases and new funding commitments (per the NC Newsline)
Jamezetta Bedford won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary over Maria T. Palmer unopposed by a Republican, but died June 21, 2026 following complications from a medical procedure, per the Daily Tar Heel. The Orange County Democratic Party executive committee selected Rani Dasi, a Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education member, as the new nominee (about 67 percent of committee votes over five other applicants), and the Board of Commissioners appointed her to fill the seat on August 25, 2026, per Chapelboro.com. Dasi is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the certified list decides who prints.
Rani Dasi · DemocraticIncumbent▾
Dasi is a longtime Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education member who was selected by the Orange County Democratic Party to succeed the late Jamezetta Bedford as the District 1 nominee, and was sworn in as the sitting commissioner on August 25, 2026, per Chapelboro.com. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Rani Dasi.
Incumbent commissioner Earl McKee was not renominated in the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary; Beth Bronson led by a narrow margin that held after a recount (about 25 votes, per Chapelboro.com). Bronson faces Republican Louis Capitanio on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Beth Bronson · Democratic▾
Bronson is a clinical research coordinator at Duke University Hospital and a lifelong Orange County resident who currently serves on the county's Planning Board and Board of Adjustment, per the Daily Tar Heel.
Priorities: Managing growth responsibly through long-range planning, per the Daily Tar Heel · Environmental conservation, per the Daily Tar Heel · Thoughtful, transparent leadership that listens to residents, per the campaign site
Louis Capitanio · Republican▾
Louis Capitanio appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Orange County Board of Commissioners District 2, per the county elections office's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Louis Capitanio.
Incumbent Mark Kleinschmidt, Clerk of Superior Court since 2018, is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Mark Kleinschmidt · DemocraticIncumbent▾
Kleinschmidt has served as Orange County Clerk of Superior Court since 2018 and was previously Chapel Hill's mayor from 2009 to 2015 after eight years on the town council, per the NC Judicial Branch. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Mark Kleinschmidt.
Incumbent Mark Chilton is retiring after 12 years. Amy Jo McLamb, the office's assistant register with 26 years there, won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary over former county commissioner Penny Rich and is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Amy Jo McLamb · Democratic▾
McLamb has served in the Orange County Register of Deeds office for 26 years, working through every position from entry level to leadership, per the campaign site. She has implemented modernization initiatives including new software systems, electronic PIN assignment, and real-time document scanning, per the campaign site.
Priorities: Expanding fraud alert protections to cover parcel identification numbers, not just owner names · Continuing conservation of historical deed books, plat maps and other aging records · Cross-training staff to serve in every section of the office (per the campaign site)
Incumbent Sheriff Charles Blackwood, first elected in 2014, is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Charles Blackwood · Democratic▾
Blackwood served 45 years with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, beginning in December 1980 and rising through the ranks to major of operations before retiring in December 2012 to run for sheriff, per the campaign site. He was elected the 47th Sheriff of Orange County and has since held multiple state-level leadership appointments, per the campaign site.
Priorities: Expanding mental health and substance abuse services · Responding to the opioid epidemic through innovative programs · Pursuing bail and bond reform alongside school safety initiatives (per the campaign site)
District 18 covers Orange and Chatham counties. Incumbent Judge C. Todd Roper, appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2020, is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
C. Todd Roper · Democratic▾
Roper has practiced law for 30 years in Orange and Chatham counties and was appointed a district court judge by Governor Roy Cooper in 2020, per the campaign site. He has presided over thousands of cases spanning juvenile, civil, criminal, custody and domestic violence matters, per the campaign site.
Priorities: Making balanced and impartial decisions based on the law and facts of each case · Working to help people caught in systemic problems regain control of their lives (per the campaign site)
District 18 covers Orange and Chatham counties. Incumbent DA Jeff Nieman, in office since 2022, is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Jeff Nieman · Democratic▾
Nieman has served as District Attorney for Orange and Chatham counties since 2022, per the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the State Board of Elections' certified candidate list is the only verifiable source for Jeff Nieman.
Nonpartisan; two of the district's three elected seats are up in 2026, vote for 2. Incumbents Richal Vanhook and W. Chris Hogan are both seeking re-election against challenger K. Alexander Foreman, per the district's official board page. This contest is on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Richal VanhookIncumbent▾
Vanhook is the incumbent Secretary/Treasurer of the Orange Soil and Water Conservation District board of supervisors, per the county's official board page. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official roster and election filing is the only verifiable source for Richal Vanhook.
W. Chris HoganIncumbent▾
Hogan is an incumbent elected supervisor on the Orange Soil and Water Conservation District board, per the county's official board page. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official roster and election filing is the only verifiable source for W. Chris Hogan.
K. Alexander Foreman▾
K. Alexander Foreman appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Orange Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, per the county elections office's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for K. Alexander Foreman.
Laura Pichardo (Republican), Jonah Garson (Democratic) meet on the November 3 ballot; Jonah Garson is the sitting member, per the General Assembly's roster. Party nominees were chosen at the March 3 primary (a second primary is held only when no one reaches 30 percent plus one); unaffiliated candidates qualified by petition. The field is the State Board of Elections' certified general-election candidate list (read September 7, 2026). This seat is elected by district; only the district covering your address appears on your ballot.
Laura Pichardo · Republican▾
Laura Pichardo is an accounts payable business analyst who holds an MBA and served as treasurer of the Caswell County Republican Party from 2022 to 2026, per her campaign site.
Priorities: Expand broadband access in rural areas · Support rural hospitals and expand telehealth · Supports the state's current 12-week limit on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest, and the mother's health (per the campaign site)
Jonah Garson · DemocraticIncumbent▾
Jonah Garson was appointed to the North Carolina Senate on April 10, 2026 to represent District 23, covering Caswell, Orange, and Person counties, per the NC General Assembly. He is based in Chapel Hill, per his campaign site.
Priorities: Supporting competitive legislative and judicial races statewide · Reforming the state's electoral and democratic institutions (per the campaign site)
Renee A. Price (Democratic) is the only candidate on the November 3 ballot; Renee A. Price is the sitting member, per the General Assembly's roster. Party nominees were chosen at the March 3 primary (a second primary is held only when no one reaches 30 percent plus one); unaffiliated candidates qualified by petition. The field is the State Board of Elections' certified general-election candidate list (read September 7, 2026). This seat is elected by district; only the district covering your address appears on your ballot.
Renee A. Price · DemocraticIncumbent▾
Renee A. Price works as a consultant, per the NC General Assembly. She represents House District 50, covering Caswell and Orange counties, and is serving her second term. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 7, 2026.
Matthew P. Clements (Libertarian), Allen Buansi (Democratic) meet on the November 3 ballot; Allen Buansi is the sitting member, per the General Assembly's roster. Party nominees were chosen at the March 3 primary (a second primary is held only when no one reaches 30 percent plus one); unaffiliated candidates qualified by petition. The field is the State Board of Elections' certified general-election candidate list (read September 7, 2026). This seat is elected by district; only the district covering your address appears on your ballot.
Matthew P. Clements · Libertarian▾
Matthew P. Clements has written commentary arguing from a free-market perspective for privatizing North Carolina's alcohol distribution system, per the Appalachian Chronicle. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 7, 2026.
Priorities: Privatize North Carolina's alcohol distribution system, per Appalachian Chronicle
Allen Buansi · DemocraticIncumbent▾
Allen Buansi is an attorney who previously served on the Chapel Hill Town Council, per his campaign site. He represents House District 56, covering Orange County, per the NC General Assembly.
Priorities: Making North Carolina more affordable · Expanding accessibility to services and government · Building a more inclusive state (per the campaign site)
These race previews show candidates we’re tracking now. A ZIP code shows your statewide and congressional races; a street address adds county and city contests. Local races are address-specific. This guide previews tracked contests, while the lookup tool narrows the list to a voter’s exact address. Tap any name to see the race, full candidate profiles, and everything else on your exact ballot. North Carolina nominees were set by the March 3 primary; a candidate clearing 30 percent plus one avoids a second primary, and unopposed nominees still print on the November 3 ballot, per the State Board of Elections.
