Incumbent Orange County Commissioner Phyllis Portie-Ascott won the Democratic primary for the Orange County Board of County Commissioners’ District 2 seat, per unofficial results. Portie-Ascott won about 75 percent of the primary election vote as of 9 p.m., while the two other candidates, Adam Beeman and Horace Johnson Jr., won about 16 and 9 percent respectively.
Portie-Ascott became a commissioner last February, when she replaced the vacant seat left by N.C. Rep. Renée Price (D-Caswell, Orange), who was elected to the state House.
She received endorsements from various Orange County leaders, including Carborro Mayor Barbara Foushee and former mayor of Hillsborough, Jenn Weaver.
According to her campaign website, Portie-Ascott's platform is focused on building a thriving community, empowering the workforce and addressing the mental health .
"We know that the affordable housing crisis is not just an issue that we face in Orange County, in North Carolina. It is an issue that we face in this throughout this nation," she said. "I believe that we really do have to make sure that we appropriate dollars to help create affordable housing for all of us who engage all of our partners and paid off federal state partners to make sure that we can address this crisis."
The Republican candidate Nathan Robinson is running unopposed. Portie-Ascott and Robinson will compete for the BOCC District 2 seat in the general election in November.
