Under the Dome: Veteran NC Republican lawmaker Jon Hardister resigning

Kyle Ingram
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Hello and welcome to your Under the Dome newsletter. Kyle Ingram here.

After unsuccessful statewide run, Rep. Jon Hardister to resign from NC House

On Thursday afternoon, six-term state Rep. Jon Hardister, a Whitsett Republican, announced he would resign his seat in the legislature.

“I am passionate about public service, but it is now time to shift my focus to private sector work and spending time with family,” he wrote in a statement.

“Tens of thousands of new jobs have come to our state as a result of the pro-economic policies that we have enacted. All of this was done while investing in the core services of government, including education and public safety. I am proud of this record, and I am leaving office with a sense that I did my job and left the state better than it was before.”

He will resign his seat on April 8, over nine months before his term ends in December.

Hardister, the deputy majority whip in the House, had stepped down as majority whip to run for labor commissioner — but lost the Republican primary to Luke Farley earlier this month.

The Guilford County Republican Party will appoint a replacement to complete the rest of Hardister’s term.

Counties see frequent turnover in election directors

This week, the State Board of Elections met to officially certify the results of the 2024 primary.

The process went off without a hitch, but was followed by a word of caution from Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell: North Carolina is having a hard time keeping election officials in the job.

“Sometimes the fuel is not in the fuel tank anymore because of some of the hostility, because of some of the pressures of a lot of change that happens in the administration of elections in North Carolina,” she told the board.

Since 2019, there have been 58 changes in county election directors across the state’s 100 counties. The reasons for the changes break down as follows:

▪ 36 retirements

▪ 20 resignations

▪ 1 death

▪ 1 termination

This much turnover can deprive counties of institutional election knowledge, Brinson Bell said.

For dozens of county directors, 2024 will be their first presidential election in the position.

These are full-time positions responsible for complicated work.

“Elections (are) critical infrastructure now,” Brinson Bell said. “We have physical and cybersecurity things that we have to be aware of. We have complex technology with our voting equipment, with our computer systems. There’s management of not just the day-to-day staff, but the hundreds or thousands of people who come in to be those frontline workers for the voting sites.”

Brinson Bell said the board is requesting additional money from the legislature in the short session to help handle the upcoming election.

That’s all for today. Check your inbox on Sunday for more #ncpol news.

  • You can sign up to receive the Under the Dome newsletter at newsobserver.com/newsletters. Want your friends to get our email, too? Forward them this newsletter so they can sign up here.

  • We want to know what you would like to see in the Under the Dome newsletter. Do you like highlights from the legislature? Political analysis? Do you have a question you’d like The News & Observer team to answer? Tell us here. You can also email us at dome@newsobserver.com

  • Don’t forget to follow our tweets and listen to our Under the Dome podcast for more developments.