The filing period for candidates running for local and state races this November started Monday.
Candidates and their supporters packed into Mecklenburg County's Board of Elections office in Charlotte before the start of filing at noon. Some of the first candidates to file were incumbents, including Mecklenburg County Sheriff Irwin Carmichael, North Carolina House Representative Mary Belk, and State Senator Joyce Waddell. By 3 p.m., 15 Democrats and two Republicans had filed with the Board of Elections.
Garry L. McFadden, a retired CMPD homicide detective, also registered to run for Sheriff against Carmichael.
Michael Dickerson, the Director of Elections for Mecklenburg County, noted that the crowd of candidates filing today was quite large.
“We’ve had a good crowd, a good turnout at first filing,” Dickerson said. “A lot of incumbents have already come in and addressed that they’re going to run again.”
Many candidates spoke to their supporters after filling out paperwork. Democrat Dan McCready, who filed to run for North Carolina’s 9th congressional seat, spoke to a group of around 40 people and thanked them for their support. He said he was running because he didn’t like what he saw from politicians in Washington.
“They are trying to undo what our country has built up over hundreds of years," McCready said. "I don’t think you want to stand for that either. I think that’s why you’re here today. Let’s stand here today and let’s make a statement that this is our town, this is our state, this is our country, this is our year to turn our country around.”
McCready is hoping to challenge Republican Robert Pittenger.
North Carolina’s primary will be held on May 8.
