Attorney Ruth Smith arrived at the Buncombe County Election Services office carrying a blue backpack and a folder full of paperwork. She sat at a desk where she submitted her documents, paid a $139.51 fee and answered questions from the director of elections.
“That was the easy part,” Smith, who is pursuing her first bid for elected office, said with a laugh after her paperwork was stamped and she was officially declared a candidate for state House District 115.
Smith was one of several candidates who submitted their paperwork Monday, the first day of filing for the 2024 election. Candidates may run for one of 17 offices on the ballot next year in Asheville and Buncombe County.
Among those offices are two state Senate seats (Districts 46 and 49); three state House seats (Districts 114, 115 and 116); three County Commissioner seats; the Commissioner Chair; the Register of Deeds; the remaining two years of the unexpired term of the Buncombe County Clerk of Superior Court; and three seats each on the Asheville City Council and Board of Education.
The city council and school board elections are nonpartisan; all of the others are partisan races. Primary elections will be held March 5, 2024, and the winners will face off in the general election on November 5.
A rolling list of the candidates who have filed is available here on the county election services website.
One of the most closely watched districts in the state House is the 115th, a seat currently represented by Democratic state Rep. Lindsey Prather, who was first elected in 2022. The Republican-majority state legislature recently redrew the boundaries of legislative seats as part of the redistricting process, and while the 114th and 116th Districts remain solidly Democratic, District 115 is now a competitive race.
“I’ve been fighting the city now for almost 25 years on behalf of … the citizens of Buncombe County,” Smith, 52, of Weaverville, said. “And now I want to fight in Raleigh.”
Democrat Eric Ager represents the 114th District. Democrat Caleb Rudow currently represents the 116th District; he announced last week that he is running for Congress, meaning that he will not be able to run for reelection to his state House seat at the same time.
Redistricting has also affected the shapes of the state Senate districts. The 46th District, represented by Republican Warren Daniel, previously included Burke and McDowell Counties and the eastern part of Buncombe County. It now includes the northern and western parts of Buncombe as well.
The 49th District, represented by Democrat Julie Mayfield, has been newly redrawn so that it is limited to the central and southern parts of the county, with District 46 surrounding it on three sides. The city of Asheville remains in its boundaries.
In the Buncombe County Clerk of Superior Court race, former assistant public defender Jean Marie Christy was appointed in March to succeed Steven Cogburn, who retired. Christy filed to run to fill the remaining two years of Cogburn’s unexpired term.
In late October, current Buncombe County Commissioner Amanda Edwards became the first candidate to announce a bid for board chair. The current chair, Brownie Newman, is not seeking reelection and has endorsed Edwards’s candidacy.
Several other local and county offices, including four seats on the Buncombe County Board of Education, will be on the ballot next year. The candidate filing deadlines for those elections fall in July and August 2024.
Want to run?
Who?
All candidates must be registered to vote in Buncombe County and must be at least 21 years old by Election Day. For offices where there is a district, candidates must also reside within that district. For municipal races, including Asheville School Board candidates must reside within the municipal corporate limits.
Where?
Candidates may file in person at the Board of Elections office at 59 Woodfin Place or by email.
When?
Filing for candidates for County Commissioner, Clerk of Court, Register of Deeds, Asheville City Council, and Asheville School Board ends December 15.
Filing for other offices, including the Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, Biltmore Forest, Black Mountain and Montreat leadership and Buncombe County School Board begins in the summer 2024.
Find more details at the Buncombe County Board of Elections site.
