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Only one week remains until filing closes for candidates wishing to submit their names for the upcoming primary election in March. As of Dec. 12, several local citizens have already filed or refiled, but a few seats across the Roanoke-Chowan area remain without candidates.

The filing period will end at 12 noon on Friday, Dec. 20.

Bertie County residents will be voting to fill two county commissioner seats as well the Register of Deeds.

No one has yet to file for the District 4 county commissioner seat currently held by John Trent. The District 1 seat, however, does have one person listed on the ballot so far. Ronald (Ron) Wesson, the Democrat incumbent from Windsor, has already filed for reelection.

The sole candidate for the Register of Deeds race remains Democrat incumbent Annie F. Wilson from Windsor.

The Bertie Board of Elections office is located at 210 West Watson Street, Windsor. For more information, call 252-794-5306.

Only four candidates have filed so far for local races in Gates County. There are two county commissioner seats up for grabs, along with the Register of Deeds and two seats on the Board of Education.

Linda Hofler, a Sunbury Democrat, has filed to seek another term as the District 5 county commissioner. No one has yet to file for the District 4 commissioner seat currently held by Henry Jordan.

With two seats available in the Board of Education race, incumbent Ray Felton of Eure has filed to reclaim his District 2 seat. Amanda J. Pacitto of Sunbury is the only candidate who has filed for the District 4 seat which is currently held by Claire Whitehurst.

1. Cathy Horton, the incumbent Register of Deeds, is currently running unopposed for another term. She is a Democrat from Eure.

Gates County residents seeking to file can do so at the Board of Elections office located at 931 Main Street, Gatesville. For more information, call 252-357-1780.

Voters in Hertford County will choose three County Commissioners and the Register of Deeds in the upcoming primary.

Ronald J. Gatling, the Democrat incumbent from Ahoskie, has filed for a chance to reclaim his District 2 county commissioner seat. He is currently running unopposed.

For the District 1 commissioner seat, however, two Democrats have entered their name into the race so far. Incumbent John D. Horton will face off against Tim Wadsworth. Both are from Ahoskie.

No one has yet to file for the commissioner seat currently held by Bill Mitchell.

In the Register of Deeds race, Murfreesboro Democrat incumbent Melanie Story is currently running unopposed.

For interested candidates, the Hertford County Board of Elections office is located at 418 Everett Street, Suite A, Ahoskie. For more information, call 252-358-7812.

Most races in Northampton County show incumbents seeking another term unopposed. The Board of Education race, however, is heating up with eight candidates already submitting their names to fill the four seats up for election.

Incumbents Keedra Whitaker of Rich Square, Richie Harding of Pleasant Hill, and Clinton McCray Williams of Garysburg have all filed for reelection to the Board of Education. They are joined by challengers Tony Burnette of Jackson, Theresa Scott of Conway, Josephine Tyner Dunn of Murfreesboro, Sondra Goffington Dickens of Jackson, and Barbara A. Stephenson of Conway.

Lloyd Pitman is the only BOE incumbent who has yet to file to try to keep his seat on the board.

The District 1 and District 2 county commissioner seats will also be on the ballot in March. Both Democrat incumbents, Charles R. Tyner, Sr. of Murfreesboro and Geneva Riddick-Faulkner of Rich Square, have filed for reelection. Both are currently unopposed.

Like other Register of Deeds races in the Roanoke-Chowan area, the incumbent in Northampton County is unchallenged in that race so far. Robin Phillips Williams, a Democrat from Seaboard, is seeking another term in the position.

The Northampton County Board of Elections office is located at 9495 NC Hwy 305, Jackson. For more information, 252-534-5681.

In addition to local races, voters will also see names on the ballot for several district, state, and federal races.

A number of candidates have already filed for district judge races. Gates County is included in judicial District 1 while Bertie, Hertford, and Northampton are in District 6.

The two candidates for NC Court Judge District 1 so far are Republican Edgar L. Barnes for Seat 4 and Democrat Amber Davis Malarney for Seat 5.

In NC Court District 6, candidates for judges include Brenda Green Branch (Seat 1), Teresa Raquel Robinson Freeman (Seat 2), and W. Turner Stephenson III (Seat 4). For Seat 3, incumbent Vershenia Ballance Moody will face off in the primary against Jamal Summey. All of the District 6 judge candidates are Democrats.

Democrat incumbent Cy Grant has also filed for reelection to Seat 1 on the NC Superior Court District 6B.

Some incumbents in the local NC House of Representatives races will see challengers this year.

In NC House District 5, which covers Hertford and Gates counties, Democrat incumbent Howard J. Hunter III will face off against Keith Rivers in the primary. Republican candidate Donald Kirkland has also filed for the seat.

Northampton County is included in NC House District 27 where two Democrats have filed to run for the seat. Incumbent Michael H. Wray will be challenged by Jerry McDaniel.

Republican Edward C. Goodwin is currently the only candidate seeking the seat for NC House District 1, which includes Bertie County.

Two NC Senate districts cover the Roanoke-Chowan area. Hertford and Gates are included in District 1, and Bertie and Northampton are represented in District 3.

Republican incumbent Bob Steinburg is currently the only person who has filed to reclaim his seat as the District 1 senator.

In NC Senate District 3, Republican Thomas S. Hester, Jr. has filed for the seat as well as Democrat Ernestine (Byrd) Bazemore, who is currently serving a term on the Bertie County Board of Commissioners.

Erica D. Smith is the Democrat incumbent for NC Senate District 3, but she has chosen to file for the US Senate seat instead. Other Democrat candidates in the US Senate primary include Trevor M. Fuller, Steve Swenson, Cal Cunningham, and Atul Goel.

The incumbent Republican Senator Thom Tillis has also filed for reelection, but currently faces no competition in the primary.

The other person seeking the US Senate seat is Libertarian candidate Shannon W. Bray.

The Roanoke-Chowan area is represented by District 1 of the US House of Representatives. Democrat incumbent G.K. Butterfield has filed for reelection to the position. Republican Ethan Baca has also submitted his name in the race.

Other statewide races for the 2020 election include Governor, Lieutenant Governor, all state executives, Justices of the Supreme Court, and Judges of the Court of Appeals.

There are currently three candidates for Governor so far, including Democrat Roy Cooper who is seeking a second term. Republican candidates are Holly Grange and Dan Forest, who is currently serving as the state’s Lieutenant Governor.

Without Forest seeking reelection to his post, the field for Lieutenant Governor is crowded with both Democrat and Republican candidates.

Democrat candidates for Lt. Governor include Bill Toole, Terry Van Duyn, Yvonne Lewis Holley, Chaz Beasley, Allen Thomas, and Ron Newton. Republican candidates include Mark Robinson, Deborah Cochran, Andy Wells, Greg Gebhardt, Renee Ellmers, and Scott Stone.

The primary election will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. If there is no clear party nominee in certain contests following the partisan primary election, there may be a second primary for that contest, either on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 (if no contest for federal office in the state requires a second primary), or Tuesday, May 12, 2020 (if one or more contests for federal office in the state requires a second primary).

The date of the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.