Live blogging the election

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Nancy McFarlane and Russ Stephenson at the Busy Bee in downtown Raleigh. Photo by Christopher Grohs.


Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker at the Busy Bee in downtown Raleigh. Photo by Christopher Grohs.


District E winner Bonner Gaylord. Photo by Rachel Hulbert.
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9:41 p.m. – Sponsored ad

Support for Raleigh Public Record’s election day coverage comes from:

SPIZE CAFE – Let us spize you up and tantalize your taste buds with Pan-Asian flavors in our Baguettes, Soup, Salads & Fresh Spring Rolls. The fresh herbs and exotic spices will surely invigorate your palate. Open Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wed 11 a.m to 9 p.m. Call: 919-828-5000 or visit: www.spizecafe.com

Support also comes from the North Carolina Center for Voter Education.

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9:37 p.m. – Julia Merchant

Voter turnout was 11.37 percent, with 54,985 people casting ballots. That’s an increase from the last municipal election two years ago, which had a 10.93 percent turnout.

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9:32 p.m. – Christie Starnes

District D challenger Ted Van Dyk reacts to news of his loss at the Hibernian Pub on Gelnwood South.

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9:27 p.m. – Rachel Hulbert

Mary Ann Baldwin celebrates her re-election with her daughter and husband at the Player’s Retreat on Hillsborough Street.

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9:07 p.m. – Julia Merchant

James West, who just won a sixth term in District C, joins RPR’s Yolanda McGill upstairs at the Morning Times:

“My top agenda is focused on attempting to strengthen our at-risk and fragile communities.”

West’s thoughts on the outcome of the school board election: “If anyone is out to destroy diversity policy, I’m very very disappointed….I think that we have to have a policy that embraces everyone.”

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8:56 p.m. – Sponsored ad

Support for Raleigh Public Record’s election day coverage comes from:



SPIZE CAFE – Let us spize you up and tantalize your taste buds with Pan-Asian flavors in our Baguettes, Soup, Salads & Fresh Spring Rolls. The fresh herbs and exotic spices will surely invigorate your palate. Open Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wed 11 a.m to 9 p.m. Call: 919-828-5000 or visit: www.spizecafe.com

Support also comes from the North Carolina Center for Voter Education.

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8:52 p.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

Nancy McFarlane sits down with RPR’s Yolanda McGill upstairs at the Morning Times.

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8:48 p.m. – Julia Merchant

Russ Stephenson sits down with Yolanda McGill upstairs at the Morning Times:

“It’s been an interesting grassroots campaign. With the economic downturn…more meet and greets, getting out and talking to people about issues, less ad-buys.”

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8:37 p.m. – Andrew Mayo

Mary Ann Baldwin celebrating her re-election at the Player’s Retreat on Hillsborough Street:

“You know, I’m just so relieved, I’m so happy right now.” Her goals for the next term? “Transit is going to be the number one thing. I’m going to work to get the house sales tax approved, continue to work on gang prevention like I’ve been doing with Councilman West, look out for people who have less, and bring jobs to Raleigh.”

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8:31 p.m. – RPR staff

Meeker’s acceptance speech at the Busy Bee Cafe downtown: “Council has a lot of work to do to get this city rolling again…we need to be a greener city moving forward.”

Nancy McFarlane, Russ Stephenson and Lee Sartain also gave speeches.

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8:23 p.m. – Sponsored advertisement

Support for Raleigh Public Record’s election day coverage comes from:



SPIZE CAFE – Let us spize you up and tantalize your taste buds with Pan-Asian flavors in our Baguettes, Soup, Salads & Fresh Spring Rolls. The fresh herbs and exotic spices will surely invigorate your palate. Open Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wed 11 a.m to 9 p.m. Call: 919-828-5000 or visit: www.spizecafe.com

Support also comes from the North Carolina Center for Voter Education.

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8:20 p.m. – RPR staff

The slate of four GOP-backed Wake County School Board candidates, critical of the system’s diversity policy, have swept the school board election.

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8:18 p.m. – RPR staff

John Odom wins District B with 59 percent of the vote (24/26 precincts reporting).
Thomas Crowder wins District D with 67 percent of the vote, all precincts reporting.

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8:02 p.m. – RPR staff

Meeker wins mayor.
Nancy McFarlane wins District A.

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8 p.m. – Julia Merchant

Bonner Gaylord wins District E.
James West wins District C.

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7:57 p.m. – Julia Merchant and Christie Starnes

First round of election results:

Mayor
Meeker: 63.33%
Hudson: 26.9%
Enloe: 6.83%
Kunz: 2.59%

At-Large
Baldwin: 35.6%
Stephenson: 33.8%
Claris: 18.6%
Sartain: 8.05%
Shakespeare: 3.25%

District A
McFarlane: 93.11%

District B
Odom: 55.89%
Koopman: 43.89%

District C
West: 89.06%
Reisinger: 10.41%

District D
Crowder: 66.76%
Van Dyk: 30.37%
Goldberg: 2.22%

District E
Gaylord: 73.57%
Haq: 25.79%

Board of Education
District 1
Malone: 53.71%
Rakestraw: 39.28%
Vair: 6.91%

District 2
Tedesco: 47.05%
Truitt: 24.84%
Tart: 23.78%
Lucas: 3.75%
Augustine: .46%

District 7
Prickett: 64.1%
Simon: 35.6%

District 9
Goldman: 59.93%
Nixon: 39.89%

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7:40 p.m. – Syreeta Hargrove

Spotted: Ted Van Dyk at the Cameron Village Library voting location as polls closed. Van Dyk, who is challenging incumbent Thomas Crowder in District D, said he has enough professional and community experience to serve on the City Council. If elected, Van Dyk would make it a priority to look out for a broader array of stakeholders.

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7:31 p.m. – Julia Merchant

Polls are now closed.

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7:30 p.m. – Rachel Hulbert


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7:21 p.m. – Julia Merchant

Perry Woods, a local political strategist, is sitting down with Yolanda McGill upstairs at the Morning Times. Woods gives his opinion on the biggest issue driving the school board race:

“Unfortunately there are those right now that want to eliminate our diversity policy. Some parents aren’t happy with school reassignments. When you get angry, you don’t always see the whole picture – sometimes outrage trumps reason.”

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7:16 p.m. – Julia Merchant

Polls close in less than 15 minutes!

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7:12 p.m. – Sponsored advertisement

Support for Raleigh Public Record’s election day coverage comes from:



Support also comes from the North Carolina Center for Voter Education.

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7:07 p.m. – Julia Merchant

Damon Circosta, Executive Director of the North Carolina Voter Education Center, has joined us upstairs at the Morning Times for an interview with Yolanda McGill. Circosta explains that it only takes 12,500 votes to win a Raleigh City Council seat.

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6:59 p.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

A total of 2,351 people voted early this year. Of those, 2,105 cast one-stop voting ballots, the rest were absentee voters.

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6:49 – Ethan Elliott

Voter Clyde Lundy says he’s proud to cast his vote for incumbent City Council member Nancy McFarlane, who’s running uncontested. Lundy says McFarlane shares his concern over stormwater runoff and water quality, and calls her “a watchdog for local issues.”
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6:44 p.m. – Ethan Elliott

The absence of school board races from some ballots continues to confuse voters. Over at the Sertoma Arts Center in District A, several voters drawn to the polls by the school board election are upset that they’re apparently unable to cast ballots in the race.

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6:33 p.m. – Julia Merchant

Polls close in less than an hour. In the last municipal election two years ago, 10.93 percent of registered voters turned out to cast their ballots…will this year be better?
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6:18 p.m. – Sponsored advertisement

Support for Raleigh Public Record’s election day coverage comes from:


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6:16 p.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

Join the Raleigh Public Record staff upstairs at the Morning Times as we live blog the election results tonight from 7 to 10. We will have our very own Yolanda McGill on camera talking to candidates and local political nerds and bringing you the results as they come in.

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6:13 p.m. – Ethan Elliott

Out at Jeffreys Grove Elementary School at 6119 Creedmoor Rd. in District A, poll worker Shirley Bullock has seen 242 voters come through the doors today, or about a 15 percent turnout. Voters like Donald Fowler were drawn by the school board race. Fowler said he was “very dissatisfied” with the Wake County School System, which, in his opinion, “caters to special interest groups to the detriment of our children.” Voter Tony Pecoraro expressed discontent with the state’s method of testing students, saying it doesn’t accurately reflect the fact that North Carolina students are performing worse than those in other states.

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6 p.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

The at-large runoff question: We spoke with Gary Sims at the Wake County Board of Elections who told us that if two at-large candidates each grab more than 25 percent of the vote, they’ll both automatically win a seat. But if only one candidate is able to grab that percentage of votes, the third place finisher gets to decide whether to call for a runoff.
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5:21 p.m. – Sponsored advertisement

Raleigh Public Record’s election-day coverage is made possible by:

SPIZE CAFE – Let us spize you up and tantalize your taste buds with Pan-Asian flavors in our Baguettes, Soup, Salads & Fresh Spring Rolls. The fresh herbs and exotic spices will surely invigorate your palate. Open Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wed 11 a.m to 9 p.m. Call: 919-828-5000 or visit: www.spizecafe.com

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3:44 p.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

Polls close in less than 4 hours. Find your polling place here.

Still undecided? Check out the Raleigh Public Record’s candidate profile series. You can also read through the candidates’ financial disclosures here.

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3:36 p.m. – Sponsored advertisement

Join the Raleigh Public Record staff tonight as we cover the election returns live, upstairs at the Morning Times, 10 E. Hargett St. starting at 7 p.m.

RPR election coverage made possible by:


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2:29 p.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

Join the Raleigh Public Record staff upstairs at the Morning Times as we live blog the election results tonight from 7 to 10. We will have our very own Yolanda McGill on camera talking to candidates and local political nerds and bringing you the results as they come in.

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2:03 p.m. – Andrew Mayo

Andy Felton, a voter at the Cameron Village Library, said he is concerned about “leadership, growth, city and downtown. I’m looking for a change.”

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1:46 p.m. – Andrew Mayo

Peg Hulslander, the chief judge at the polls at Fred Olds Elementary polling in District D, said: “We all brought books but we haven’t read much so far.”

At the Cameron Village Library (District D) Janet Lehman said there was a “light but steady increase at coffee hour” as lunchtime rolled through with only a few voters. She said voters were confused about the school board elections, seeing only council positions on their ballots. There is concern, she said, “because a few voters are going to decide what happens to one hundred percent of students.”

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1:24 p.m. – Andrew Mayo

Raleigh Public Record caught up with at-large candidate Mary Ann Baldwin campaigning outside of a polling station in District C.

Here’s what she said about the election turnout: “I’m sad. Nobody’s voting. That’s just very disheartening to me. City Council has more impact on their lives than any other political body. We’re having a national hangover from the last election.”

And about herself: “I’ve worked pretty hard, serving, working and campaigning.”

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1:19 p.m. – Sponsored advertisement

Support for Raleigh Public Record’s election day coverage comes from:



Support also comes from the North Carolina Center for Voter Education.

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1:10 p.m. – Sponsored advertisement

Raleigh Public Record’s election-day coverage is made possible by:

SPIZE CAFE – Let us spize you up and tantalize your taste buds with Pan-Asian flavors in our Baguettes, Soup, Salads & Fresh Spring Rolls. The fresh herbs and exotic spices will surely invigorate your palate. Open Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wed 11 a.m to 9 p.m. Call: 919-828-5000 or visit: www.spizecafe.com

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11:15 a.m. – Andrew Mayo

“We want to make sure the right people get elected, we want to keep diversity in our school system,” said Allie M. Peebles after voting in District D.

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10:53 a.m. – Rachel Hulbert

Photos from the Poe Montessori School polls in District C this morning.

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10:01 a.m. – Andrew Mayo

Poll worker Mark Vanderborgh at the Poe Montessori School, a polling place in District C, said, “The turnout is very light, but we did not expect very much.”

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9:42 a.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

Join the Raleigh Public Record staff upstairs at the Morning Times as we live blog the election results tonight from 7 to 10. We will have our very own Yolanda McGill on camera talking to candidates and local political nerds and bringing you the results as they come out of the Wake County Board of Elections.

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9:14 a.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

Voters compete with parents dropping off their kids at an elementary school in District C, where long-time council member and Mayor Pro-tempore James West faces Chuck Reisinger, a young challenger new to Raleigh politics.

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7:49 a.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

The rain has tapered off and NBC17 and WRAL say that any rain for the rest of the day will be light.

Find your polling place here.

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7:27 a.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

Still undecided? Check out the Raleigh Public Record’s candidate profile series. You can also read through the candidates’ financial disclosures here.

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7:16 a.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

Support for Raleigh Public Record’s election day coverage comes from:


Support also comes from the North Carolina Center for Voter Education.

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6:30 a.m. – C. Duncan Pardo

The polls are open in Raleigh for the mayoral, city council and school board races.

Find your polling place here.

And check back throughout the day and into the evening for updates on the election.