The Ballot Brief
28743

Who is on the ballot in 28743?

Madison 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.

10 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.

28743 sample ballot preview

U.S. House, North Carolina District 11
3 candidates
Federal ▾
Jennifer Capps Balkcom portrait
JC
Jennifer Capps Balkcom
REP
Biography
Jennifer Capps Balkcom is an eighth-generation Western North Carolinian raised on her family's apple farm in Henderson County, per her campaign site. She began her career in banking and finance in 1998 and now works as a Mortgage Loan Officer and small-business owner, per the campaign site. She currently represents Henderson County in the North Carolina House and is running for Congress in North Carolina's 11th District, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
From other published sources
  • Hurricane Helene recovery, per WFAE
  • Housing affordability, per WFAE
  • Rural health care, per WFAE
Campaign siteFull profile
JA
Jamie Ager
DEM
Biography
Ager is a fifth-generation farmer who owns a sustainable meat company employing 25 people and holds degrees in environmental studies and history from Warren Wilson College, per the campaign site. He farms in Fairview in Western North Carolina, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Cutting red tape to deliver Hurricane Helene recovery funding
  • Making healthcare more affordable and accessible
  • Restricting insider stock trading by members of Congress
Campaign siteFull profile
TG
Travis Groo
Libertarian
Biography
Travis Groo is a trucking safety specialist, per press coverage of the race. No campaign website was found as of October 20, 2026.
Full 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. OPEN RACE: Rep. Chuck Edwards withdrew from the race in August 2026 and serves out his term; the district Republican committee nominated state Rep. Jennifer Capps Balkcom, certified August 11, per NC Newsline and WFAE.
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
Libertarian
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
Green
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 Madison County

ZIP 28743 sits in Madison County, per the Census crosswalk. These seats are voted countywide; district seats, city races and school boards need a street address. All Madison County races (4).

North Carolina Superior Court Judge, District 35, Seat 1
1 candidate
County ▾
MR
Matthew Rupp
REP
Biography
Matthew Rupp currently serves as a District Court Judge for District 24, covering Avery, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey counties, appointed by Governor Roy Cooper in June 2022, per WataugaOnline. He was previously a law partner and an assistant district attorney in the 35th and 26th Prosecutorial Districts, and he received his Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame. He is now a candidate for the Superior Court seat serving Avery County.
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
Matthew Rupp (Republican) is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot for North Carolina Superior Court Judge, District 35, Seat 1. Voters across Avery, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey 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 District Court Judge, District 35, Seat 1
2 candidates
County ▾
EF
Eric F. Eller
REP
Biography
Eric F. Eller is an attorney based in Boone, North Carolina who has practiced criminal and traffic defense in Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yadkin counties since 1995, per his law office's website. He is a graduate of Appalachian State University and Wake Forest University School of Law and served in the U.S. Army before an honorable discharge in 1987, per the same source. No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026.
Full profile
AB
Andrew Brooks
DEM
Biography
Andrew Brooks is a candidate for District Court Judge serving Watauga, Avery, Mitchell, Yancey and Madison counties, per his campaign site. Brooks moved to Boone, North Carolina from Michigan in 2005, returned after law school in Charleston, South Carolina to begin practicing law in 2013, and opened his own firm, High Country Family Law, in 2023, per the same source.
Campaign siteFull profile
About this race
Eric F. Eller (Republican) and Andrew Brooks (Democratic) meet on the November 3, 2026 ballot for North Carolina District Court Judge, District 35, Seat 1. Voters across Avery, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey 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 47
2 candidates
County ▾
FP
Frank Patton Hughes III
DEM
Biography
Frank Patton Hughes III is a Democrat running for North Carolina Senate District 47, covering Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Haywood, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey counties. He was born in Iredell County and has lived throughout the state, with his family's deepest roots in Avery County, per his campaign site. Hughes is a social studies teacher at McDowell High School and previously taught at Philo Hill Middle School and helped write curriculum for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth school district, per his campaign site. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Appalachian State University, per his campaign site.
Top Priorities
From the campaign site
  • Addressing underfunding and overcrowding in public schools
  • Ensuring access to quality medical care in the mountain region
  • Environmental stewardship of forests, pastures and streams that support local food production and tourism
Campaign siteFull profile
Ralph Hise portrait
RH
Ralph Hise
REP INCUMBENT
Biography
Ralph Hise is a Republican representing North Carolina Senate District 47, covering Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Haywood, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey counties, and is serving his eighth term as Senate Deputy President Pro Tempore, per the North Carolina General Assembly.
Campaign siteFull profile
About this race
Frank Patton Hughes III (Democratic), Ralph Hise (Republican) meet on the November 3 ballot; Ralph Hise 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 Madison County is in this district, per the certified district list.
North Carolina House District 118
2 candidates
County ▾
DE
Danny E. Davis
DEM
Biography
Danny E. Davis is the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House District 118, representing Haywood and Madison counties. Davis is a Haywood County native who graduated from Tuscola High School and Western Carolina University before earning a law degree from Campbell University, per the Smoky Mountain News. Davis served as an assistant district attorney and spent 27 years as a district court judge before retiring, and has since worked as a court mediator and chaired the Haywood County Board of Elections, per the Smoky Mountain News. No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.
Full profile
JM
James M. (Jimmy) Rogers
REP
Biography
James M. (Jimmy) Rogers is the Republican nominee for North Carolina House District 118, representing Haywood and Madison counties, per the Smoky Mountain News. Rogers is a member of the Haywood County Board of Education, first elected to that board in 2001, per The Mountaineer. No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.
Full profile
About this race
Danny E. Davis (Democratic), James M. (Jimmy) Rogers (Republican) meet on the November 3 ballot. The seat is open: Rep. Mark Pless (Republican), the sitting member per the General Assembly's roster, is not on the November ballot. 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 Madison 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.

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Ballot Info Lookup

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Ballot info questions for 28743
Who is running for mayor in 28743?

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 28743?

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

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Data sources

Where does The Ballot Brief verify ballot info for 28743?

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.