The longer I live in small-town North Carolina, the more endearing it becomes. My kids can be their natural feral selves and run around the neighborhood without fear of vehicles racing down the street, vagrants milling about, or used needles sporadically gleaming in the curbside clutter. We moved here after a two-year joint duty assignment in Tampa, Fla.
Most of the coastal Carolina charm, however, does not come from what it isn't (a large city) but what it is: slow-paced, friendly, wholesome, and dedicated to preserving more than just beaches but a way of life. That is, except for local politics. This place has more drama than a telenovela (Latin American soap opera).
Case in point: the 2025 Bogue mayoral race. This tiny town has just over 700 people, and the only real issue of its most recent election was the town's distillery. Bogue Sound Distillery makes fantastic spirits (I'm partial to its bourbon) and hosts events that draw folks from all over, such as music bingo, karaoke, and live music. It's the last bit that gets some NIMBYs undies in a twist: too much noise after dark. Dear Reader, the distillery is next to an RV retailer and a USMC landing field.
Campaign signs were stolen. Rumors did abound. Neighbors turned against neighbors. The closer the election cycle drew to its end, the more brutal it became. Rough campaign math suggests dividing the population in half to get the number of registered voters, so 350 folks in Bogue. Small town + hot issue = high turnout, so reckon 300 ballots cast. All a candidate has to do is reach 151 to win. The NIMBYs squeaked out a victory with 153. Bogue Sound Distillery's big, beautiful patio will remain quiet until 2027.
Just north of Bogue is Morehead City. If we're going "to town," then we are going to Morehead; 28,000 people is the big time out here. These "city slickers" can't be bothered to vote, though, when there isn't a motivating issue; only 1,523 people cast their ballot for the mayor's race in last year's election. The right-of-center incumbent, Jerry Jones, received 761 votes, and his left-leaning challenger, Anthony Stiles, got 762.
Jones formally challenged the results, citing irregularities at the polls, such as people being turned away without provisional ballots and inconsistent voter eligibility. It turns out poll workers were either unaware or strategically remembering rules and regulations. While I'd like to give my neighbors the benefit of the doubt, it's not a good look that the progressive challenger won in a county that went 70% for President Trump in 2024, 2020, and 2016.
Of course, records of folks denied a ballot and who denied them are not kept, so we don't know who was responsible for the actions, but we do know at least two people who would have voted for Jones were prevented from exercising their right to vote. Jones argues that if they'd been permitted to participate, he would have won by a single vote instead of Stiles.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections considered the case and decided to call a mulligan. Voters will be asked to return to the ballot box in March 2026, and I can all but guarantee more than 1,500 people will turn out this time. Carteret County is the kind of place where Trump/Vance flags fly year-round right under Old Glory and the Good Ol' North State banners. People will show up for this race.
Meanwhile, out in Harrellsville, an even more ridiculous election is getting a redo. This tiny North Carolina town is home to 106 people. Twenty-five folks voted in the mayoral election. Imagine running for office and only having to convince 25 people. Unfortunately, in a place that small, everyone knows everyone; handshakes and the word of your neighbor's uncle's barber are good enough for whatever you need. I don't say this to disparage small-town norms, but it explains why seven of those 25 people were able to vote despite being entirely ineligible. They didn't actually live in Harrellsville, and no one felt the need to check their IDs against the registered voter lists.
But, wait! There's more! The citizen who won the mayorship didn't even run. Ten people wrote her in. Let me just say that if you have a totally organic write-in campaign conducted without your knowledge, that says as much about you as it does your neighbors. Lori Nuss, congratulations on being an unsung community hero, and a goodonya to your friends for recognizing your awesomeness!
Nuss says she'll try to recruit someone else to lead Harrellsville, but she will accept the position if she has to. She told the Carolina Public Press:
I guess I'll let them write my name down again. Everybody here is so sweet. I mean, we all work together. We really do. It's not really the mayor, as much as it is the mayor and Town Council that work together.
I say this with the weight of my whole heart: I love local politics, and small-town North Carolina is proving to be a wellspring of drama. "Do-over" elections... what a time to be alive!
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