Here's what happened in the Gaston County Board of Commissioners primary election
EDITOR'S NOTE: After a canvass by the Gaston County Board of Elections, it has been determined that there will be a runoff between Jim Bailey and Ronnie Worley.
A former law enforcement officer appears to have ousted an incumbent Gaston County commissioner in the primary election, winning by only three votes, according to the unofficial election results released Tuesday night.
Jim Bailey, a Republican who worked for the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, led by a narrow margin over Commissioner Ronnie Worley, who is also a Republican and a former law enforcement officer. Bailey attracted 27.44% of the votes, or 5,784 while Worley had 27.42% of the vote, or 5,781 votes, according to unofficial results released Tuesday.
Todd Kinlaw came in third, with 25.29% of the votes, and Marc Seelinger came in fourth, with 19.85% of the votes.
Bailey, a U.S. Air Force veteran, said in response to questions from The Gazette ahead of the election that he decided to run for election after the last home revaluation.
"After the last home revaluation, when I talked to some of the county commissioners and they either treated you like you didn’t know what you were talking about, or just didn’t tell you the truth, my wife told me to either do something about it or be quiet," he wrote. "The more I started looking at the way the commissioners were doing business, the more I noticed things that were against basic conservative values. I talked to my family and church family and prayed about it. Everyone encouraged me to bring Christian Conservative values back to the board."
Bailey currently works for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as the training coordinator in the Executive Security Division.
A second primary, or runoff election, could be held because the race was so close, Elections director Adam Ragan said in an email.
"Nothing is official until after canvass on Friday, March 15th but that race is eligible for a second primary/runoff if the candidate that finishes second calls for one," he said. "I would say it’s highly likely we have a second primary in that race and probably two statewide contests on the Republican side."
Republican Scott Shehan garnered the most votes for Gastonia Township, garnering 65.06% of the vote to Republican Howard Collmar's 34.94%.
Shehan will face Democrat Sharlene Mullings in the general election.
In the vote for the Crowders Mountain Township commission seat, incumbent commissioner Bob Hovis won with 55.07% of the votes, while his opponent, Blair Hall, drew 44.93% of the votes.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Results of the Gaston County Board of Commissioners primary election
