Bob Rucho, a Republican member of the State Board of Elections, is stepping down from that role in part over recent contributions made to two sheriff candidates who are running for reelection this year, state officials said Thursday.
State Auditor Dave Boliek, who oversees state elections, “talked to Rucho and resignation was mutually agreed on,” Randy Brechbiel, a spokesman for the auditor, said Thursday in a text message.
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State law bans state board members from giving to candidates. Since joining the board in May, Rucho has made donations to at least two candidates, campaign finance records show. The contributions, totaling almost $1,300, were for Catawba County Sheriff Don Brown and Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell. Brechbiel confirmed to WRAL on Thursday that those contributions were central to the resignation.
Efforts to reach Rucho for comment weren’t immediately successful.
Angela Hawkins, a Republican appointee who has been serving as chair of the Wake County elections board, was sworn in Thursday to replace Rucho.
“I’m thankful for Bob Rucho’s service on the State Board of Elections,” Boliek said in a statement. “He led on election integrity and helped make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in North Carolina’s elections.”
Rucho’s resignation comes as the elections board faces mounting scrutiny over whether it can be trusted to handle a possible recount and legal challenges coming in the too-close-to-call primary election between state Senate leader Phil Berger and Republican challenger Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.
State law also bans elections board members from making public statements supporting or opposing individual political candidates. In two recent Facebook posts Rucho has defended state Senate leader Phil Berger, who is currently in a too-close-to-call primary race against challenger Sam Page, including one post in which Rucho criticized Page.
Rucho is a former state senator who was a top lieutenant of Berger’s, entrusted with top leadership roles in the legislature. Campaign finance documents show he gave at least $1,500 to Berger’s reelection campaign in the 2024 cycle, which is before he was on the elections board. It’s unclear if Rucho contributed to Berger’s campaign this year; complete campaign finance records from the 2026 election cycle aren’t yet public.
There is precedent for similar board shakeups. In 2018 the Democratic chairman of the elections board, who had been appointed by then-Gov. Roy Cooper, resigned after making social media posts criticizing Republican President Donald Trump.
Boliek, a Berger ally who WRAL reported has staffed his office with former Berger aides, has also come under scrutiny for his ties to the Senate leader. Boliek has long defended his ability to ensure elections are overseen fairly and independently.
Call for independent oversight
After early votes and Election Day ballots were tallied Tuesday, Page led Berger by just two votes in the Republican primary for the state’s 26th Senate District.
Elections officials are counting provisional ballots and ballots from military and overseas voters. If the margin of victory is less than one percentage point apart after those are counted, the trailing candidate can request a recount by March 17.
A recount would be overseen by county and state elections officials appointed and overseen by Boliek, who last month campaigned in support of Berger, who has led the Senate for more than a decade. Berger played an influential role in passing the law that moved oversight of the state’s elections from the state’s Democratic governor to the Republican auditor. And Boliek has leaned on Berger’s bench to staff his office: Boliek’s chief of staff was previously a top lawyer for Berger at the legislature, and Boliek’s spokesperson is Berger’s former spokesperson.
Because of those connections, Page on Wednesday called on Boliek to recuse himself from the process, saying his oversight of the board as it relates to the undecided race “seems like a big ethical conflict.” Political operatives on both sides of the aisle have also called for independent oversight of a possible recount.
Brechbiel, the auditor’s spokesman, said Boliek wasn’t available for an interview on Wednesday or Thursday. In separate statements Wednesday, Brechbiel and Jason Tyson, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections, said the auditor’s office has no role in the ballot-counting process.
“The public can be assured that this is going to be a safe and secure process that's outlined by law, that is not going to have political influence in any way, shape or form,” Tyson said.
Berger’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Boliek previously defended his ability to impartially oversee the vote-counting process, saying in an interview with WRAL last month that while he was elected in a partisan election, he represents all North Carolinians.
Rucho, a former longtime state senator from Mecklenburg County, was the state Senate’s go-to authority on election law matters — redistricting, voter photo identification and more. The landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that made it easier for states across the nation to gerrymander their political maps for partisan gain, Rucho v. Common Cause, bears his name.
He joined the state elections board last year after Republicans took control under a new law passed by his former GOP colleagues in the state legislature, stripping power over the elections board from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and handing it to Republican Auditor Dave Boliek instead.
In his statement Thursday, Boliek expressed confidence in Hawkins to carry on the post-primary work of finalizing the vote count, conducting audits and hearing any potential challenges to the results.
“This office has high standards for its board members, and Angela Hawkins will continue the good work being done by the State Board,” Boliek said. “She brings valuable experience, having served as chair of the elections board of North Carolina’s largest county.”