![Robesonian](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="300" height="68"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg> "Robesonian")
Precinct 4 Elections Judge Kimberly Locklear places sanitizer into a box to be moved after use at county polling sites in the general election. Workers were in the process of cleaning up the Pine Street Senior Center in Lumberton and moving supplies back to the Robeson County Board of Elections on Wednesday.
Results shows Robeson County has shifted red
Robeson County elections officials Katrina Mason, left, and Ana Chinos work Wednesday to move items used at polling sites during the general election from the Pine Street Senior Center on Wednesday. County Board of Elections staff members worked to move supplies back to the Board of Elections office.
LUMBERTON — The chairs of the local Democrat and Republican parties agree that the results from Tuesday’s general election show a change in Robeson County’s political climate.
Robeson County, which has been known as a Democrat-dominated county, voted red Tuesday in key political races up and down the ballot.
“The Democratic county, I guess, isn’t a Democratic county anymore,” said Pearlean Revels, chair of the Robeson County Democratic Party. “Yesterday has shown what we’ve come to, and I hate that it’s happened this way but people have a trend and they do what they want to do.
“It is what it is. I just hate it, but it is what it is.”
State Sen. Danny Britt Jr., a Lumberton Republican, won 62.93% of the vote, with 26,854 votes cast for him and 15,820 for Barbara Yates-Lockamy, his Democratic challenger. In the race for the District 9 seat in the U.S. House, incumbent Dan Bishop received 24,940 votes, or 57.99%, to Democratic challenger Cynthia L. Wallace’s 18,065, or 42.01%
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis took 23,606, or 54.66% of the votes cast, from Robeson County. Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham received 18,101 votes, or 41.92%. The race was not called as of Wednesday evening.
And President Donald Trump won big over his Democrat opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump received 25,927, or 58.57%, of the votes cast in Robeson County, compared to 17,998, or 40.66%, for Biden.
All of the results of Tuesday’s election are unofficial until votes are certified.
“Obviously we’re excited to see Robeson continue to trend Republican,” said Phillip Stephens, the county’s Republican Party chairman.
Stephens said the president’s recent visit to the county played a significant role in the party’s success.
“Our local models actually projected 52% in Robeson for the president,” he said. “The margin of error was several points, so he probably enjoyed a several point bounce after his recent visit to the county.
“We’ve never had a projection that high for a Republican presidential candidate. Trumps 58% win here was certainly historic.”
Overall the Republican Party has established Robeson County as a battleground county, Stephens said.
“We now have more than simply statewide impact. Robeson now has notoriety and influences nationally,” he said. “Being a swing county is a good thing for both Republicans and our Democrat colleagues as we both really just want the best for Robeson at the end of the day.”
Stephens said conservative Democrats that feel left behind by “liberal trends” will find a “comfortable home with the Republican platform.”
“There are a lot of conservatives we’d like to attract across our demographics,” he said.
On the local level, Revels said one of the major casualties of the red wave is the loss of Robeson County Commissioner Roger Oxendine, a Democrat who held his District 3 seat for 14 years.
“We’ve lost one of our best, Mr. Roger Oxendine,” Revels said. “He’s been one of our best, one of our longest-standing county commissioners.”
Revels believes her party did all they could to bring out voters, but the Trump support was too strong within the county.
“We did what we could do but the county as a whole was Trump motivated and that just meant that instead of splitting the ballot, we had a lot of people that voted straight Republican,” she said.
She is not happy with the national performance either.
“I thought that we would do better nationally, and it was close races, but it didn’t happen. I think nationally we did good but we couldn’t hold on to our leg,” Revels said.
A win for the Democrats, however, is the voter turnout.
“I’m proud of the turnout, and hope that this will be a trend to continue to come out to the polls just like they did yesterday,” Revels said Wednesday. “It’s up to the people what this county is going to come down to. We’re a poor county and we need people to vote so that our leaders will know that we’re here and need help.”
COVID-19 has played a significant roll in the election’s results, a fact known firsthand by state Rep. Charles Graham. The Democrat was one of his party’s success stories, winning reelection to his seat in the N.C. House of Representatives. Graham received 13,484 votes, edging out Olivia Oxendine, a Republican, by 1,170 votes, according to unofficial election results.
Graham said COVID-19 made campaigning more of a “challenge.” It forced all candidates to use media platforms like TV, print and radio, which was more expensive, he said.
“We had to, we didn’t have a choice,” Graham said. “It was a very challenging way to campaign.”
Sen. Britt said the election was what he expected in some ways and not in others.
“I was both amazed and excited about the turnout,” Britt said. “I am very disappointed, however, in the governor’s race as I was pulling for Dan Forest very hard and he has become a close friend. I am afraid Gov. (Roy) Cooper will send us into another full shutdown that will continue to destroy our economy. I am also very concerned that our children need to be back in school.”
With results the presidential race still up in the air, political officials are hoping the courts will not be the deciding factor.
“We hope this election isn’t decided in the courts,” Stephens said.
Revels said the courts deciding who will be president undermines the election process.
“When the people vote, they have spoken, but when you have minor problems that’s causing it to go back to the courts, that’s where you start having questions wondering ‘What happened to the people’s vote?’” Revels said.
Britt anticipates litigation but a conclusion to the election before the courts decide the outcome. He said legitimacy in the election is been a problem the county is familiar with.
“I believe many voters already doubt the election system,” he said. “I also believe many voters question the legitimacy of the provisional and absentee ballot process.”
“I have the same concerns as I have witnessed people who appear to vote at a poll site only to discover a ballot has already been cast in their name. I have also witnessed absentee ballots filled out and turned in by caretakers, and candidates for folks who had no intention to vote as the caretaker or candidate has voted for them,” he added.
Rep. Graham said he hopes voters will not lose trust in the government, no matter the outcome of the presidential race.
“I hope the voters will trust in our leaders, trust that they’re making the right choices,” he said.
Around the Web
Want your content to appear on sites like this?
Increase Your Engagement Now!Want to report this publisher's content as misinformation?
Submit a ReportTomeka Sinclair can be reached at tsinclair@robesonian.com or 910-416-5865. Jessica Horne can be reached at jhorne@robesonian.com or 910-416-5165.
