Futrelle secures county seat;

recount may be

requested in 5th District
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

As usual, Tuesday’s primary election wrapped up some races in a tidy victory margin and left at least one race in doubt with only a razor’s edge lead.

Tim Futrelle handily garnered a seat on the Watauga County Board of Commissioners by defeating Doug McGuinn in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

Futrelle, who joins unopposed Democrats Jim Deal and Winston Kinsey on the fall ballot, is an Appalachian State University student making his first run for public office.

He defeated McGuinn by a margin of more than two to one.

“I feel very fortunate that both Doug and I have run a very clean race and an issue-based race,” he said at the county courthouse after voting totals were released.

“I’ve really enjoyed getting to meet people and hear their concerns.”

Futrelle spent primary day greeting voters and passing out campaign material, and said the campaign gave him a chance to see what was on the voters’ minds.

“Folks seemed to be very focused on making sure money in the county is spent well,” he said, noting that he was a fiscal conservative who would bring that attitude to the commission.

He also said that though he was younger than the traditional county commissioner, he would bring energy and drive to his duties.

Watauga Democratic Party chairwoman Diane Tilson said Futrelle was a welcome addition to the party.

“Tim is young and has good ideas. He’s more than just a student; he’s worked for a living and is also a productive member of the community and will be a good commissioner,” she said. The primary was definitely a bugger deal for Democrats with 11 races on the ballot to the Republicans’ six.

In unofficial results, Glendale Springs tree farmer and retired teacher Roy Carter narrowly edged out Statesville business owner Diane Hamby by less than 1 percent.

Hamby has said she will wait for a count of provisional ballots before deciding to request a recount.

The margin of 531 votes is likely enough to hold up during the official canvass scheduled next week. The winner will face incumbent Republican Virginia Foxx in the fall.

Boone dentist Jerry Butler defeated former Alexander County party chairman Dwight Shook for the Republican nomination in the District 45 N.C. Senate race. Butler failed to carry his home county of Watauga, though, losing by more than 100 votes. He made up for it by dominating Ashe and Wilkes counties, despite a last-minute mailing that criticized Butler for alleged false advertising in his dental practice. Butler will face Democratic incumbent state Sen. Steve Goss in the fall, ensuring that the senate seat will be held by a Boone resident.

“I’d like to thank the voters of the district for putting their confidence in me,” Butler said. “I’m certainly looking forward to going and representing the people in the N.C. Senate. We’re particularly proud of running a positive campaign, which I think the people appreciated. We’re planning to run our race the same way in the fall.”

Butler said campaigning had brought economic issues to the forefront. “I really believe a lot of the voters are concerned about new jobs throughout our district, particularly since we serve such a broad spectrum,” he said.
From higher education to family farms, the district has many factions to serve, Butler said.

Watauga Democrats followed the state in supporting presidential candidate Barack Obama, with Obama topping Hillary Clinton by nearly 900 votes locally, while getting 56 percent of the statewide ballots.

The official canvass will be May 13, and a runoff will likely take place on June 20, with a close race for the Democratic Lieutenant Governor nomination yet to be decided. Voter turnout in Watauga County was nearly 30 percent, with more than a third of voters casting their ballots during the one-stop early-voting period.

For complete elections returns, visit wataugademocrat.com.