The Ballot Brief
27243

Who is on the ballot in 27243?

Orange County, NC

Reported by The Ballot Brief Editorial Team. Updated as public election and video sources change.

Fields below reflect the November 3, 2026 general election ballot as races are certified.

We use AI to research and write election information. Errors are possible. Verify important details with official sources.

13 races and 3 ballot questions in your ZIP preview.

About this preview
County and municipal contests depend on your exact address: use the address lookup below for the full slate. Every race links to official sources on the North Carolina voter hub.

27243 sample ballot preview

U.S. House, North Carolina District 4
3 candidates
Federal ▾
Valerie P. Foushee portrait
VP
Valerie P. Foushee
DEM INCUMBENT
Biography
Foushee worked as an administrative officer with the Chapel Hill Police Department for 21 years before serving in the North Carolina House and Senate and on the Orange County Board of Commissioners, per the campaign site. She holds a degree in political science from UNC-Chapel Hill, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Support science, space and technology research
  • Invest in transportation and infrastructure
  • Support education and civil rights
Key voting record
Voted no on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the 2025 tax-and-spending package, which passed the House 218-214 in July 2025. Opposed
Voted no on the Laken Riley Act, expanding federal detention of certain immigrants charged with theft or violent crimes, which passed the House 263-156 in January 2025. Opposed
Voted no on the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026, which passed the House 231-196 in September 2025. Opposed
Campaign siteFull profile
Mahesh 'Max' Ganorkar portrait
M'
Mahesh 'Max' Ganorkar
REP
Biography
Ganorkar holds an MBA in international finance and operates a family-owned construction business, per the campaign site. He previously led a Tea Party group focused on educating Americans about socialism, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Expand school choice through vouchers
  • Reduce housing costs through deregulation
  • Support lower taxes and limited government spending
Campaign siteFull profile
Guy Meilleur portrait
GM
Guy Meilleur
Biography
Meilleur moved to North Carolina in 1985 to study trees at North Carolina State University, where he was a lecturer and curator, and has been an instructor at Duke University and an arborist at UNC, per the campaign site. Meilleur has taught in 29 countries, has run a marathon in 48 states, and has lived in Durham since 2015, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Stronger economy
  • Smarter education
  • Cost-effective healthcare
Campaign siteFull profile
About this race
North Carolina fields are from the State Board of Elections' certified general candidate list. NC redrew its congressional map in October 2025 (Session Law 2025-95), and this site's ZIP districts follow that 2025 map; enter your street address with the official lookup to confirm your district.
U.S. Senate
4 candidates
Federal ▾
RC
Roy Cooper
DEM
Biography
Roy Cooper is a former North Carolina governor and attorney general, per the campaign site. He was born and raised in Nash County, earned undergraduate and law degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and practiced law in Rocky Mount, per the campaign site. The campaign site says he served four consecutive terms as attorney general and, as governor, reached a Medicaid expansion deal covering about 650,000 people.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Lower the cost of food and groceries
  • Make health care affordable
  • Lower energy and utility costs
Campaign Finance
$26,822,373 raised · top industries: Large donors giving $2,000+ (49% of receipts), Small-dollar donors under $200 (21% of receipts)
Record in office
Signed North Carolina's Medicaid expansion (House Bill 76) into law in 2023.
Campaign siteFull profile
MW
Michael Whatley
REP
Biography
Michael Whatley was raised in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Wake Forest University and the University of Notre Dame, per the campaign site. He began his public service as a federal law clerk in Charlotte and later served as Sen. Elizabeth Dole's chief of staff, per the campaign site. He served as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and, at President Trump's request, as chairman of the Republican National Committee, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Enact the Trump agenda
  • Make North Carolina safe again
  • Fight illegal immigration
Campaign Finance
$8,410,252 raised · top industries: Large donors giving $2,000+ (62% of receipts), Small-dollar donors under $200 (23% of receipts)
Campaign siteFull profile
Shannon W. Bray portrait
SW
Shannon W. Bray
Biography
Shannon W. Bray is a Navy veteran and cybersecurity professional, per the campaign site. He says he is running for the U.S. Senate because North Carolina deserves leadership that understands modern threats without sacrificing fundamental freedoms, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Economy and taxes: lower costs, simpler taxes
  • Monetary policy and inflation
  • Jobs, innovation and technology
Campaign siteFull profile
MD
Michael Dublin
Biography
Michael Dublin is a native North Carolinian, a public school educator who recently retired from teaching, and a lifelong community activist, per the campaign site. The campaign site says he has led a prison ministry for more than two decades. He filed as the North Carolina Green Party's U.S. Senate candidate on June 15, 2026, per the state Green Party.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Democracy: get big money out of politics
  • Environmental justice: a Green New Deal for North Carolina
  • Social and racial equity
Campaign siteFull profile
Supreme Court Associate Justice, Seat 01
2 candidates
Statewide ▾
AE
Anita Earls
DEM
Biography
Earls is an attorney who currently serves as an Associate Justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, per the campaign site. Her campaign focuses on protecting constitutional rights for North Carolinians, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
From other published sources
  • Upholding the state constitution, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
  • Protecting access to healthcare, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
  • Defending the right to a sound basic public education and voting rights, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
Campaign siteFull profile
SS
Sarah Stevens
REP
Biography
Sarah Stevens is an attorney with more than 30 years in private practice and president of the Surry County Bar Association, per her campaign site. She has served as Republican Leader and Speaker Pro Tempore of the North Carolina House, chairing the House Elections Law and Judiciary Committees, and holds a law degree from Campbell University School of Law, per her campaign site.
Campaign siteFull profile
Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 01
2 candidates
Statewide ▾
JS
John S. Arrowood
DEM
Biography
John S. Arrowood is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile
MC
Michael C. Byrne
REP
Biography
Michael C. Byrne is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile
Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 02
2 candidates
Statewide ▾
T(
Tobias (Toby) Hampson
DEM
Biography
Tobias (Toby) Hampson is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Top Priorities
From other published sources
  • Keeping judges with Court of Appeals experience on the bench, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
  • Defending the rule of law, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
Full profile
GC
George Cooper Bell
REP
Biography
George Cooper Bell is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile
Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 03
2 candidates
Statewide ▾
CM
Christine Marie Walczyk
DEM
Biography
Christine Marie Walczyk is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Top Priorities
From other published sources
  • Protecting individual liberties and equal access to justice, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
  • Maintaining an independent judiciary, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
Full profile
CC
Craig Collins
REP
Biography
Craig Collins is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile

Countywide races in Orange County

ZIP 27243 sits in Orange County, per the Census crosswalk. These seats are voted countywide; district seats, city races and school boards need a street address. All Orange County races (12).

Orange County Board of Commissioners At-Large
2 candidates
County ▾
KS
Karen Stegman
DEM
Biography
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.
Top Priorities
From other published sources
  • 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
Campaign siteFull profile
JH
Jeffrey Hoagland
REP
Biography
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 was found as of September 8, 2026.
Top Priorities
From other published sources
  • Making sure law enforcement is properly staffed, trained and funded, per NC Newsline
  • Fiscal restraint on county tax increases and new funding commitments, per NC Newsline
Full profile
About this race
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.
Orange County Clerk of Superior Court
1 candidate
County ▾
MK
Mark Kleinschmidt
DEM INCUMBENT
Biography
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 was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile
Why only one name?
Only one name is on the ballot for this office: no other candidate qualified. An unopposed candidate is elected unless a write-in outpolls them where write-ins are allowed, so this line still counts as a vote.
About this race
Incumbent Mark Kleinschmidt, Clerk of Superior Court since 2018, is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Orange County Register of Deeds
1 candidate
County ▾
AJ
Amy Jo McLamb
DEM
Biography
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.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • 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
Campaign siteFull profile
Why only one name?
Only one name is on the ballot for this office: no other candidate qualified. An unopposed candidate is elected unless a write-in outpolls them where write-ins are allowed, so this line still counts as a vote.
About this race
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.
Orange County Sheriff
1 candidate
County ▾
CB
Charles Blackwood
DEM
Biography
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.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Expanding mental health and substance abuse services
  • Responding to the opioid epidemic through innovative programs
  • Pursuing bail and bond reform alongside school safety initiatives
Campaign siteFull profile
Why only one name?
Only one name is on the ballot for this office: no other candidate qualified. An unopposed candidate is elected unless a write-in outpolls them where write-ins are allowed, so this line still counts as a vote.
About this race
Incumbent Sheriff Charles Blackwood, first elected in 2014, is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Orange Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor
3 candidates
County ▾
RV
Richal Vanhook
INCUMBENT
Biography
Richal Vanhook serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, an elected seat, per Orange County government. No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026.
Full profile
WC
W. Chris Hogan
INCUMBENT
Biography
Hogan is a farmer from a family that has farmed north and west of Chapel Hill for nine generations, and he is an elected member of the Orange Soil and Water Conservation District board, per the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame and the county's board page. The Hall of Fame says his family has served 74 consecutive years on the district board, with his grandfather Henry Hogan before him. No campaign website was found as of September 29, 2026.
Full profile
KA
K. Alexander Foreman
Biography
No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for K. Alexander Foreman.
Full profile
About this race
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.
North Carolina District Court Judge, District 18, Seat 1
1 candidate
County ▾
CT
C. Todd Roper
DEM
Biography
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.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • 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
Campaign siteFull profile
Why only one name?
Only one name is on the ballot for this office: no other candidate qualified. An unopposed candidate is elected unless a write-in outpolls them where write-ins are allowed, so this line still counts as a vote.
About this race
C. Todd Roper (Democratic) is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot for North Carolina District Court Judge, District 18, Seat 1. Voters across Chatham and Orange counties vote on this seat, per North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 7A. North Carolina judicial races have been partisan since the 2018 court reorganization. The field is the State Board of Elections' certified general-election candidate list (read September 7, 2026).
North Carolina Senate District 23
2 candidates
County ▾
Laura Pichardo portrait
LP
Laura Pichardo
REP
Biography
Pichardo is a senior accounts payable analyst with more than nine years of financial management experience, previously at Hanesbrands Inc., per the campaign site. She holds an MBA from Winston-Salem State University and a bachelor's degree in economics from UNC Greensboro, and serves as treasurer of the Caswell County Republican Party, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • 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
Campaign siteFull profile
Jonah Garson portrait
JG
Jonah Garson
DEM INCUMBENT
Biography
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.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Supporting competitive legislative and judicial races statewide
  • Reforming the state's electoral and democratic institutions
Campaign siteFull profile
About this race
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. Every address in Orange County is in this district, per the certified district list.

Statewide, North Carolina voters also decide 3 ballot questions. See the North Carolina ballot measures guide.

We use AI to research and write election information. Errors are possible. Verify important details with official sources.

Verify before you vote Find North Carolina's election office via Vote.gov (opens in a new tab)
Why verify?
Official sources are always the final word on what appears on your ballot.
Keep this ballot and help friends get ready to vote
Email yourself the link so it's ready on election day.
How we use your email
We email this ballot now and a short reminder before Election Day for your area. No spam, and every email has a one-click unsubscribe.
Ballot Info Lookup

See your full ballot for 27243

The preview above covers the races every voter in 27243 shares. Your state Senate and state House seats, plus county and city races, depend on your street address. Add it below to see them.

State legislative and local districts are not set by ZIP alone. A street address gives you the exact ballot.
Voting info and more
Ballot info questions for 27243
Who is running for mayor in 27243?

Mayor races depend on the city tied to your address. Use the full-address lookup, then confirm with your city or county election office.

When is the primary election in this state?

Primary dates vary by state. Use this page's official election links to confirm the next primary deadline for your address.

Can I vote early in 27243?

Early voting rules vary by state and county. Check your official election links for dates, locations, and ID rules.

Where can I see a sample ballot for 27243?

Start with the Ballot Brief lookup results for this ZIP. If you need more district precision, use the Local page with a full address.

Data sources

Where does The Ballot Brief verify ballot info for 27243?

Vote.gov Official federal voter registration and voting information gateway.State election offices Official directory for state election deadlines, ballot rules, and voter resources.Federal Election Commission Federal candidate filings and campaign finance data.Congress.gov members Official congressional member records and identifiers.