N.C. State Board of Elections approves presidential candidates for March primary

Posted on by Mike Fuhrman

Special to Iredell Free News

RALEIGH — The N.C. State Board of Elections on Tuesday unanimously approved names of candidates to go on ballots for the 2024 presidential preference primary in North Carolina.

The approved candidates were those submitted by the Democratic Party, Libertarian Party, and Republican Party for inclusion on each party’s primary ballot.

The primary election is March 5.

The State Board will meet again on January 2, 2024, when it may consider adding additional candidates who were not submitted by the political parties.

The following are the lists provided by the political parties for the 2024 primary, approved by the State Board on Tuesday:

Democratic Party

♦ Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Libertarian Party

♦ Toad Anderson
♦ Charles Ballay
♦ David (TrimeTaveler) Dunlap
♦ Jacob Hornberger
♦ Beau Lindsey
♦ Lars Mapstead
♦ Chase Oliver
♦ Michael Rectenwald
♦ Joshua Smith
♦ Mike ter Maat

Republican Party

♦ Ryan Binkley
♦ Chris Christie
♦ Ron DeSantis
♦ Nikki Haley
♦ Asa Hutchinson
♦ Vivek Ramaswamy
♦ Donald J. Trump

The Green Party did not submit any candidates for the primary but may still nominate a candidate for the general election on November 5, based on the candidate chosen by that party’s national nominating convention.

The other recognized political party in North Carolina, the No Labels Party, will nominate its general election candidates by convention rather than primary, under general election participation by new political party since this will be the first general election the party will participate in. The State Board recognized No Labels as a political party earlier this year.

Also, a candidate may seek a spot on the presidential primary ballot through a petition, as addressed in Nomination by petition. N.C.G.S. § 163-213.5. Any person seeking the endorsement by a national political party may submit a petition signed by 10,000 qualified voters who are affiliated with the same political party as the person for whom the petition is filed.

Early Voting

In-person early voting for the 2024 primary begins Thursday, February 15, and runs through 3 p.m. Saturday, March 2.

County Board Appointments

The State Board unanimously appointed the following individuals to county boards of elections:

♦ Douglas Orrin Smith, a Republican, to the Granville County Board of Elections
♦ June Stroud Reeves, a Republican, to the Iredell County Board of Elections
♦ David Michael Hester, a Democrat, to the Caswell County Board of Elections