In Durham, Fayetteville, mayors survive primary challenge. General election comes next month

Durham and Fayetteville narrowed the fields for mayor Tuesday in a primary election. The top two vote getters in each city advance to the general election Nov. 4.

Durham and Fayetteville were two of the biggest cities in central North Carolina holding primary elections on Tuesday. The winners of those primaries will face off in the general election to be held Nov. 4.

Durham voters had four races on their ballot -- mayor and city council seats for wards I, II and III. All races are non-partisan.

Durham mayor outpaces challengers in re-election bid

Incumbent Mayor Leonardo Williams is seeking a second term. He has led the Bull City since 2023. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, he had earned more than 55 percent of the vote and had almost double the number of votes of his closest challenger.

Anjanee Bell got close to 30 percent of the vote and will face Williams in the general election on Nov. 4.

In the city council races, incumbent DeDreana Freeman (Ward I) was in a tight race with Matt Kopac. The two will meet again in the general election.

In Ward II, incumbent Mark-Anthony Middleton and Shanetta Burris were separated by fewer than 3,000 votes.

And in Ward III, Chelsea Cook easily outpaced her three challengers. Cook was appointed in 2024 to an open seat, and she will be running for her first election to the city council. She'll face Tuesday's second-place vote-getter, Diana Medoff, in the general election.

Fayetteville narrows pool of 10 to 2 candidates for mayor

In Fayetteville, a whopping 10 people, including incumbent Mitch Colvin, were running for mayor.

Colvin initially said he wouldn’t seek reelection but later changed his mind.

He will face Kathy Keefe Jensen, a current member of the Fayetteville council, in the general election on Nov. 4.

Colvin had claimed more than 47 percent of the vote on Tuesday to Jensen's 18 percent.

Fayetteville City Council districts 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9 also had primaries on the ballot Tuesday.

General elections: Most Wake towns choose leaders Nov. 4

Only a few voters in Wake County or Orange County had elections to consider on Tuesday -- those who live in the small pockets in both counties that are technically in the Durham city limits, despite not being in Durham County.

Johnston County similarly had no elections on the ballot.

In all, 19 counties, including Harnett and Franklin counties, held elections on Tuesday.

General elections for local offices in 91 of the state's 100 counties will be held Nov. 4, 2025.

In addition to the races contested on Oct. 7, Wake County residents will be asked to vote for mayor and/or and town council members in Angier, Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell and Zebulon.

The city of Raleigh holds municipal elections in even-numbered years. In 2026, the Raleigh mayor and city council will be on the ballot.

At the top of that ballot will be race for the Senate seat currently held by Republican Thom Tillis.

Tillis has said he won't run for re-election, and former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and Michael Whatley, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee and western North Carolina native, have both launched campaigns.