This is a cross-post from Bloviations and is the second in a series of posts examining 2008 Primary Elections in Onslow County.

The Primary Election had some very interesting results for the Onslow County Board of Commissioners. It appears that Onslow County voters are unsatisfied with the current Board and want new representation.

The winners of the Democratic ballot:

Tony Padgett 6044 18.96%
Ernie Wright 5678 17.81%
John Burns 4473 14.03%
William T. Rouse, Jr. 4190 13.15%
Don Sweeting 4083 12.81%

Former Commissioners Tony Padgett and Ernie Wright were the top vote-getters. John Burns, William T. Rouse, Jr. and Don Sweeting are all new to politics in Onslow County.

It is amazing that there were over 31,000 Democratic voters and I think it shows that Onslow County is definitely ready for change.

The winners of the Republican ballot:

Barbara Melton Ikner 2828 11.76%
Bill Keller 2159 8.97%
Paul Buchanan 2060 8.56%
W. C. Jarman 2035 8.46%
Lionell Midgett 2014 8.37%

Even the Republican ballot shows a desire for change.

Only two of the three campaigning members of the current Board (Paul Buchanan and Lionell Midgett) were in the top five. Noticibly missing was Jack Bright (6th at 1932 votes) and Delma Collins (7th at 1914 votes). Martin Aragona, Jr. did not campaign to return to the Board of Commissioners because he was campaigning against State Representative George Cleveland (NC-House 14). He failed in that bid.

Again, there were far more Democratic ballots cast than Republican. The lowest Democrat that made the Primary (Don Sweeting with 4083) had only several hundred less than twice the votes as the highest vote-getter (Barbara Melton-Ikner with 2828). If the same showing happens in November, Onslow may well be in for a totally new Board of Commissioners.

And that’s definitely not a bad thing.