Polls closed

Results are in

2026 Ashe County Primary Candidates Forum

The 2026 Ashe GOP candidate forum was held on Tuesday, February 10th, at 5:30 pm at the Ashe County courthouse. A warm and interested turnout of 75 local citizens came to hear from 11 candidates.

Participating candidates were requested to submit responses to a Candidate Questionnaire and from their responses a biography and campaign summary was compiled for each candidate into a handout provided to each attendee. This was to optimize the time allotted to each candidate during the forum.

(This handout is available for downloading above.)

The forum was moderated by Ashe County GOP Chairman, Jonathan Jordan.

The forum format for each candidate in a contested race was as follows:

• Opening remarks: 2 minutes

• Two questions from the moderator, with up to 2 minutes per response

• One written question solicited from the audience (drawn from a pool of submitted questions), with up to 2 minutes for response

• Closing remarks: 2 minutes

Attendees were invited to write questions for the candidates and submit these before the forum began to be included in the "hat" from which questions were drawn for each candidate.

The candidates who attended were:

For County Commissioner – Todd McNeill and Jerry Powers

For Register of Deeds – Beth Brooke

For Clerk of Courts – Sherman Lee

For Board of Education – Wes Calbeath, Dianne Eldreth, Shane Little, and Janet Ward

and For Sheriff – Earl Cox, Phil Howell, and Brandon Shepherd

Events like this are critical for informed voters. The Primary is the most important election as it is then that the candidates for each party are selected.

The Primary is YOUR opportunity to make your voice heard about who our actual candidates will be in the upcoming November midterm elections.

The voting schedule is as follows:

Feb. 12, 2026: In-person early voting begins.

Feb. 17, 2026: Absentee ballot request deadline (5 p.m.).

Feb. 28, 2026: In-person early voting ends (3 p.m.).

March 3, 2026: Primary Election Day.

March 3, 2026: Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30 p.m.).

We invite you to checkout other tools and websites in our Resources area to assist you in making your voting decisions.

Tools for getting down to the nitty gritty

Information specified by race and other insightful information

"Grounded in God, Rooted in Research"

iVoterGuide is a division of AFA Action.

NOT affiliated with iVoters

Freedom is never more than ONE GENERATION away from extinction.

RONALD REAGAN

The Freedom Index rates members of congress based on their adherence to constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and a traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements.

This site is updated with information as and if the candidates and elected officials provide it.

Federal

Donald J. Trump – United States President

Ted Budd – US Senator North Carolina

Thom Tillis – US Senator North Carolina

Virginia Foxx – 5th District Congresswoman

State

Josh Stein – North Carolina Governor

Rachel Hunt – North Carolina Lt. Governor

Ray Pickett – NC General Assembly Representative 93rd District

Ralph Hise – NC General Assembly Senator 45th District

Local

Commissioners – 336.846.5501

Todd McNeill, Chair

Jerry Powers, Vice Chair

Wes Greene

Russell Killen

Mike Eldreth

Sheriff

B. Phil Howell

Register of Deeds

Deaett Roten

Clerk of Courts – 336.219.1400

Sherman Lee

Board of Education – 336.246.7175

Diane Eldreth

Polly Jones

Josh Roten

Teresa Calhoun

Janet Ward

Municipalities

Jefferson – Town Hall 336.846.9368

Pete Eller, Mayor

Alderman

John Shepherd

Tony Goodman

Tracie McMillan

Cathy Ballou

Brittany Teaster

Lansing – Town Hall 336.384.3938

Mack Powers, Mayor

Alderman

Matt Cordell

Teresa McCoy

Richard Weaver

Tom Richardson

Bobby Peele

West Jefferson – Town Hall 336.246.3551

Rusty Barr, Mayor

Alderman

Calvin Green

Beth Shelton

Brian Blanco

Phillip Absher

Here are some articles to review to help you clarify a biblical approach to governance, candidate selection, and voting.

Voter Insights

Take this local 13-week course on our US CONSTITUTION.

Classes are every Thursday evening from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

This cycle of classes starts February 12th through May 7th. Even if you missed the first couple of classes you are invited and encouraged to join the group.

Class is held at the Ashe County Senior Center, 180 Chatty Rob Lane, West Jefferson

The class covers:

Weekly News and Events

Modern Application

The PragerU Mission

Our mission is to promote American values through the creative use of digital media, technology and edu-tainment. People come to PragerU for a variety of reasons, but they all have one thing in common: They want to grow—intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, PragerU is here to serve you with free content that helps people of all ages think and live better while upholding Judeo-Christian values.

WallBuilders is dedicated to teaching America’s forgotten history and heroes, emphasizing the moral, Christian, and Constitutional foundation on which our nation was built.

Hillsdale College is a small, Christian, classical liberal arts* college in southern Michigan that operates independently of government funding. Our students come from nearly all of the United States and a dozen foreign countries. Drawn to the challenge of a Hillsdale education, they grow in heart and mind by studying timeless truths in a supportive community dedicated to the highest things.

* Classical liberal arts - what this used to mean when more colleges taught how to think, not what to think, like too many others do today!

Voter Registration deadline for the March 2026 Primary is February 6th.

1) Print out and complete the NC Voter Registration Form .

2) Mail it ASAP to the Ashe County Board of Elections at: 150 Government Circle Suite 2100, Jefferson, NC 2864 to ensure it gets there before the deadline.

3) This MUST be received by the Ashe County Board of Elections no later than February 6th, 2026. You CAN also hand carry it to the Ashe County Board of Elections office in the courthouse by that date.

4) If you or someone you know needs assistance please contact us and we'll be happy to help.

5) For more information, other ways to Register, or to update your Registration go to the North Carolina Board of Elections

To legally qualify to Register you must attest to the following:

I am a United States citizen.

I am at least 18 years of age or will be by the date of the general election; or I am at least 16 years old and understand that I must be at least 18 years old on the day of the general election to vote.

I will have been a resident of North Carolina, this county, and precinct for 30 days before the date of the election in which I intend to vote.

I will not vote in any other county or state after submitting this form and if I am registered elsewhere, I am canceling that registration at this time and,

I have not been convicted of a felony, or if so, I have completed my sentence (including any probation, post-release supervision, or parole).

You may need to use alternative search forms - such as St for Street, Rd for Road, (or vice versa), add or remove apostrophes, etc. Do not put lot or apartment numbers. It took me 3-4 tries to get it right.

2026 Primary : March 3, 2026. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

2026 General Election : November 3, 2026. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

Every vote, every bill, every action of our elected officials should be held up to the light of our Constitution!

Back at the beginning of our country visitors were impressed that every farmer and housewife didn't just know About our Constitution, they KNEW and UNDERSTOOD our Constitution!

Precincts

Registration information

Current Elected Officials

Sample Ballots

and more...

Registration Repair Project

Check if your N.C. voter registration is incomplete, learn how to fix it, and find more information in the FAQ

Make sure everything is up to date now and make voting smooth and quick this year.

If your name does not come up in the search you are up to date.

Acronyms you may see that mean us in Ashe County

ACGOP - Ashe County GOP

ACRP - Ashe County Republican Party

The North Carolina Republican Party's 5th Congressional District Organization includes the following counties: Alexander, Ashe, Alleghany, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Rutherford, Watauga, and Wilkes.

Text TRUMP to 80810 to help us Make America Great Again!