Catawba County GOP endorsements SWEEP 2025 Newton elections!

Ben Devine, Catawba County GOP Chairman

Scott Gilleland, Bill Powell, and Recil Wright easily defeated Newton City Council incumbents Roy Johnston, Ed Stain, and John Stiver, who was also the mayor pro tem, during elections on November 4th.

Gilleland, Powell, and Wright were all endorsed by the Catawba County GOP.

Gilleland, Powell, and Wright won with about 52 percent of the vote while the incumbers, and other challengers, finished in single digits.

Patrick Sterchi, who was also on the ballot, posted these comments on his social media page.

"My congratulations to Scott, Bill, and Recil for their victory last night," Sterchi said. "There's definetly been a change in the city's leadership and so I'll be interested to how it goes and offer any support I can," Sterchi said.

Sterchi continued, "I guess I underestimated the impact of the endorsement of the Republican Party would have on this election. I knew it would have an effect, but I had no idea it would have this much of an effect. And the best I can tell, there were about 400 to 500 new voters that came into last night's election. These weren't new registrants, these weren't people that never voted before. They were just people that never voted in a municipal election before."

"I suspect that the GOP was responsible for bringing most of those people to the table and, therefore, they voted for their preferred candidates. So I think that's how we got the results we got and that's really a sign of the times."

"I think going forward, this is going to be the way that Newton is going to go.  It's going to be very difficult for anyone to beat out a candidate in this area that has a Republican endorsement," Sterchi concluded.

Congratulations to the Catawba County GOP and Chairman Ben Devine for executing a flawless campaign in Newton!

In Forsyth County, the Forsyth County Board of Elections announced that there will be a recount in the race for Walkertown Town Council between Anita Moody and incumbent Republican candidate Vernon Brown.

Anita Moody won the election by one vote, 198 to 197, on election night and was endorsed by the Forsyth County GOP.

Walkertown Town Council Candidate Anita Moody

11 for 20 in Forsyth County

Elsewhere in Forsyth County, 11 out of 20 of their endorsed candidates won their elections. 

Residents in Kernersville, Lewisville, Clemmons, and other muncipalites participated in their first partisan elections this year. 

In Kernersville, Republican incumbent Mayor Dawn Morgan won re-election but Democrats hold a 3-2 advantage on the city council.

In Lewisville, Democrat challenger Billy Carter defeated Republican incumbent mayor Kevin Sharp. The Lewisville Town Council is evenly split 3 to 3 between Republicans and Democrats. 

And in the Clemmons Village Town Council race, Incumbet Michelle Barson received the most votes running as a Democrat. The remaining two seats were won by Republicans Jim Smith and Randy Wooden giving Republicans a 2-1 advantage on the council.

Republicans have full control in Tobaccoville as voters elected Mark Baker as mayor and elected the GOP to the town council.

2 for 5 in Iredell County

In Iredell County, 2 out of 5 of their endorsed candidates won their elections in Stateville.

Trey Robertson won one of the at-large seats for Statesville City Council and Kristi Madison Pfeufer won the seat in Ward 2.

Strong Precinct Organizations is the answer

to Voter Apathy, according to

NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons 

NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons provided an assessment of the 2025 elections results during the state executive committee meeting at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro last weekend.

"We had a good night, we had a bad night, and we had everything in between," Simmons said. "We had a number of counties and municipalities that we were able to have wonderful success." 

With 19.7 percent voter turnout statewide, Simmons acknowledged that one of the greatest obstacles Republicans must overcome is voter apathy.

"Despite valiant efforts, money, time, and service, it's frustrating to see the apathy that is out there on a number of voters," Simmons said. 

One of the biggest disappointments was in Mecklenburg County where voter turnout was at 22 percent. Most people believed that the vicious stabbing of Iryna Zarutska, would help drive more voters to the polls and bring significant change to Charlotte. However, incumbent Democrat Mayor Vi Lyles won re-election over Republican challenger Terry Donovan with about 70 percent of the vote.

"A wonderful, beautiful young lady that was brutally murdered; people showed up at vigils and rallies, but then a couple of months later when it's time too vote, when it's time to actually make a difference, they were nowhere to be found," Simmons said.

Simmons also said that one of the best ways to fight voter apathy is with strong precinct organizations.

"So folks, we've still got our work cut out for us. It continues to be a pressing need to make sure that we're ready as we go into next year," Simmons said. 

"We've got to make sure that we're continuing across all 2,600 precincts to find those volunteers and give them the tools, the resources, the support, and the training that they need. We must expand our number of volunteers and make sure that we continue to work across all 2,600 precincts and make sure that when it comes time, we have teams that are reaching out and getting the people to the polls," Simmons concluded. 

NCGOP Finance Director warns Executive Committee about money coming from around the world to help Roy Coooper win in 2026

Finance Director Larry Shaheen made state executive committee members aware of the tremendous financial opposition the party must contend with, next year, during the NCGOP Executive Committee meeting at the Koury Convention Center last weekend.

"Our finances are in good order. We have fundraisers coming up, we have a lot working for us. We expect to raise more money this year than we've ever raised in the history of the party. And we have to because Roy Cooper is about to drop a half to three quarters of a billion dollars on the Senate race."

Shaheen also informed committee members about an organization working to help Cooper collect money, from around the world, to win in North Carolina.

"We have a target on our back. There's a group called Arabella Advisors which is a nonprofit fundraising machine whose headquarters is in Durham. They're going to bring in money internationally to beat us --Republicans in North Carolina! They will spend every dime and force every Democrat they help to do their bidding. And if Roy Cooper wins, he will not answer to the people from this state. So, I'm going to try to raise every dollari  can, and hope all of you will join me" Shaheen concluded.  

CNN political commentator Scott Jennings was the featured speaker during the 2025 NCGOP Hall of Fame Awards Banquet.

CNN Political commentator and onair- contributor Scott Jennings informed and entertained the attendees of the 2025 NCGOP Hall of Fame Awards Banquet at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro last weekend.

Jennings, who is also a chicken farmer, also provided insight about what its like to regularly debate multiple liberals everyday.

 Jennings has appeared on CNN shows such as CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, State of the Union with Jake Tapper, New Day, The Lead with Jake Tapper, Inside Politics, CNN Newsroom, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett OutFront, and Anderson Cooper 360°.

Afterwards, awards were presented to 2025 Hall of Fame nominees. And congratulations to the 2025 winners!

GETTING AMERICA BACK TO WORK On Wednesday night, I voted to reopen the government and bring this shutdown to an end. For 43 days, families, federal workers, and small businesses paid the price for a political fight they never asked for, and it never should have dragged on this long.   Democrats chose to keep the government closed over a policy debate that could have—and should have—been handled with the government open. That decision hit real people: parents stretching groceries, federal workers missing paychecks, travelers stuck in airports, and small businesses waiting on approvals that never came. Nobody wins in a shutdown, and watching families shoulder the cost of Washington’s gridlock is exactly why I’ve been pushing to get this resolved since September.   Reopening the government means paychecks resume, benefits continue, and essential services get back online. Now it’s time to focus on what actually matters: lowering the cost of living, fixing a health care system that isn’t working for 75% of Americans, and getting this country back on stable footing.

The Get it Together Republican Tour has been postponed to a date to be identified early during the New Year. If you have purchased a ticket for this event, your ticket can be used during our fundraiser in 2026. Thank you very much for your patience.

The 10th District Executive Committee will meet on Saturday, December 6th at the Hilton Garden Inn 159 Gateway Blvd, in Mooresville, at 10 a.m.

The Republican Women of Catawba County will meet on Tuesday, November 18th, at 6 p.m. For more information, click here.