Welcome to the first edition of the Old North State Update, providing election coverage for the 2026 midterm election cycle.
Democrats running as Republicans
Several Republicans have drawn primary challengers who have switched parties. So far, these are the individuals that appear to have changed their party registration from Democrat to Republican for this purpose.
Lakeshia Alston (Senate District 22)
Alston, who wore a niqab covering her entire face for her candidate photo, is trying to knock out Republican Laura Pichardo, and if successful, she would essentially have protected incumbent Sen. Graig Meyer in the general election.
Six “educators“ have also registered as Republicans to run for House seats. The strategy is to eliminate the actual Republican in each race, leaving only Democrats, or a Democrat using a Republican registration, in place for the general election.
Pamela Ayscue (House District 32)
By running as a Republican Ayscue has a chance to knock out the only actual Republican, Frank Sossamon, who is attempting to reclaim the seat. Curtis McRae, a Democrat, has also filed to run in this race.Michele Joyner-Dinwiddie (House District 35)
Joyner-Dinwiddie is attempting to knock out incumbent Rep. Mike Schietzelt, paving the way for registered Democrat in this race, Evonne S. Hopkins, to win in the general election.Pamela Zanni (House District 81)
Zanni is trying to eliminate the incumbent, Rep. Larry Potts. Dylan Tucker is the registered Democrat in this race. Zanni went from unaffiliated to Republican.Lisa Deaton Koperski (House District 89)
Koperski’s flip is aimed at knocking out incumbent Rep. Mitchell Setzer. Robert (Spider) Thompson is the candidate registered as a Democrat in this race.Kelly Van Horn (House District 105)
Van Horn’s target is Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham, who switched parties in April 2023 after being reelected as a Democrat in 2022. Democrat Ken McCool has also filed for Cotham’s seat.Christopher Wilson (House District 117)
Wilson’s target is incumbent Rep. Jennifer Balkcom. Democrat Lynne Russo has also filed for the seat. Wilson went from Unaffiliated to Republican.
The same situation has occurred in NC’s Congressional District 14 with Kate Barr. She’s made it no secret she is challenging Congressman Tim Moore by switching from Democrat to Republican as a protest over the changes made to two of the state’s congressional districts last fall.
Speaking of party switching and shenanigans, WUNC reported this past week that Rep. Keith Kidwell’s (R-Beaufort) Republican primary challenger is the doing of fellow Rep. Jimmy Dixon (R-Duplin).
Excerpt from the article:
Kidwell says Armstrong was recruited by Republican Rep. Jimmy Dixon of nearby Duplin County, who chairs the House agriculture committee. He shared a text in which Dixon told him about the plan. “I have identified and I am going to support Darren Armstrong to file and run in the Republican primary for N.C. House District 79,” Dixon wrote in the text message.
While the text doesn’t explain Dixon’s reasoning for backing Kidwell’s opponent, Kidwell says the dispute stems from his opposition to a proposal in the farm bill that would have protected chemical pesticide companies from lawsuits. Supporters of that measure argued the companies need protection from frivolous lawsuits, but critics like Kidwell said it would put a high burden on farmers and others who are harmed by pesticides.
The John Locke Foundation has a useful tool to see the partisan lean for General Assembly districts. The General Assembly also has a set of party affiliation maps, and the public can look up voter registration information on candidates using the voter lookup tool on the N.C. State Board of Elections website.
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