Newcomers, veterans win in state legislative primaries in Forsyth County (2024)

Two political newcomers and two veteran lawmakers scored big in local legislative primaries.

The vote counts for each race are complete but unofficial.

In the Democratic primary for the N.C. Senate District 31, Ronda Mays beat Laurelyn Dossett 5,590 votes to 4,511. Mays will face Republican Dana Caudill Jones of Kernersville. Jones, a former member of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education, did not have a primary challenger. She has the endorsem*nt of retiring Sen. Joyce Krawiec, who has held the seat since 2014.

The district includes all of Stokes County and the parts of the northern, western and eastern sections of Forsyth County.

Mays, 54, is well-known in education circles in Winston-Salem. She was president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators and worked as a social worker for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools for years. She currently works as a social worker for Stokes County Schools. Mays and Jones are familiar with each other through their work with the school system.

“We had a good working relationship,” Mays said.

Both candidates had overlapping views on many issues including public education and raising the state minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Dossett, 63, is a singer and songwriter based in Westfield, a small community in Stokes County, who was making her first run for political office.

Mays said she was able to connect with people at meet-and-greets, and that they appreciated being heard.

“I feel like especially in Stokes County, people were glad to have an opportunity to talk to someone. State lawmakers do not come and talk to them,” she said.

In N.C. Senate District 32 Democratic primary, Sen. Paul Lowe trounced Gardenia Henley 11,740 votes to 6,433. Henley was running in her eighth primary since 2010. She has also run for for mayor of Winston-Salem, the U.S. House of Representatives and the N.C. House of Representatives among other offices.

A local pastor, Lowe has had a firm grip on the seat, handily winning in the general election in a district that covers a portion of Winston-Salem and western Forsyth County.

He will face Republican George Ware and Libertarian Zac Lentz in the general election on Nov. 5. Lowe beat Ware 59% to 41% in 2022. Lowe is seeking his fifth term.

In the N.C. House District 74 Democratic primary, political newcomer Amy Taylor North beat Mack Wilder by a vote of 4,943 to 1,252. North will now face incumbent Jeff Zenger in the general election.

Zenger did not have a Republican challenger.

The district covers much of western Forsyth County and includes Clemmons, Lewisville, Bethania and parts of Tobaccoville, King and Winston-Salem.

North said she is grateful for every person who campaigned for and voted for her.

A Clemmons resident, she said she got involved in working for Democratic women candidates about eight years ago.

“And this year it turned out that I have fewer rights than I’ve ever had. As a woman, I can’t make my own healthcare choices,” North said.

North said there are clear contrasts between her and Zenger, of Lewisville.

Zenger, for example, voted for a more restrictive abortion law in North Carolina that bans most abortions after 12 weeks.

Seeking his third term, Zenger has had relatively close races in the past two general elections. He edged Dan Besse 51% to 49% in 2020 and then beat Carla Catalan Day 52% to 48% in 2022.

In the N.C. House District 72 primary, Democratic incumbent Amber Baker cruised to an easy win over challenger Marcus Pearson by a margin of 6,027 to 1,874 votes. A heavily Democratic district, it covers downtown Winston-Salem, Wake Forest, Buena Vista and parts of east Winston-Salem.

A former principal at Kimberley Park Elementary School, Baker has no opponent in the general election and will be returning to Raleigh for her third term. Pearson is a social studies teacher at Carver High School.

In 2022, Baker beat her challenger, Shelton Stallworthy by a 74% to 26% margin.

“I’m humbled and honored that voters have shown me that they like what I’m doing in Raleigh,” Baker said. “I’ve worked really hard to stay connected with people in my district, keeping them informed and showing up, and tonight’s victory was them saying, ‘We appreciate that.’ I ran hard and I don’t take for granted that I’m an incumbent.”

Baker said she looks forward to returning to Raleigh to fight for public education, women’s reproductive rights and affordable housing among other issues.