Here's what Cumberland County voters need to know for primary early voting

Beth Hutson, Fayetteville Observer

Sun, February 8, 2026 at 10:03 AM UTC

8 min read

Cumberland County election results may be delayed, plus top stories — Here's what Cumberland County voters need to know for primary early voting

Early voting starts this week in North Carolina for the 2026 midterm primary elections.

Thursday, Feb. 12, is the first day of early voting in Cumberland County, with the final day set for Saturday, Feb. 28.

The primary election is Tuesday, March 3.

There's a possibility of a second primary in any race where no candidate reaches the percentage of votes needed to become the nominee. In those cases, the runner-up can request a second primary, which would be held May 12, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Early voting for the general election starts Thursday, Oct. 15, with the general election scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Here's what Cumberland County voters need to know ahead of this year's primary election early voting.

Who can vote in a primary?

Voters registered with a political party can only cast ballots for candidates in their party, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Unaffiliated voters can choose any political party or a nonpartisan ballot if one is available. No voter can vote in more than one party's primary.

What to bring

When voting, be sure to bring your state-approved voter ID. Visit ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id for everything you need to know about voter ID in North Carolina.

Find your ballot and check registration

Find what's on your ballot and check your registration by visiting the sample ballot lookup on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website and entering your first name, last name, date of birth and county of residence. That will take you to a page that shows all the races and the candidates that will be on your ballot. You can mark on the sample ballot who you plan to vote for and print the ballot to take with you to your polling place.

Where can I vote?

Voters can cast a ballot at any of the following locations approved as early voting sites in Cumberland County.

Kiwanis Recreation Center: 352 Devers St., Fayetteville
Cliffdale Recreation Center, 6404 Cliffdale Road, Fayetteville
College Lakes Recreation Center, 4945 Rosehill Road, Fayetteville
East Regional Library, 4809 Clinton Road, Fayetteville
J.D. Pone Recreation Center, 2964 School Road, Hope Mills
Smith Recreation Center, 1520 Slater Ave., Fayetteville
Stoney Point Recreation Center, 7411 Rockfish Road, Fayetteville

When can I vote?

Early voting starts Feb. 12 and goes through Feb. 18. Cumberland County early voting sites are open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays. There are two Saturdays — Feb. 14 and Feb. 28 — and one Sunday — Feb. 15 — when early voting sites will be open.

8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 and Friday, Feb. 13
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14
2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15
8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16-20
8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23-27
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28

What's on primary ballots?

U.S. Senate

One of North Carolina's U.S. Senate seats is on the ballot this year, and because incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis is not seeking reelection, it's an open seat. The winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries will face Libertarian Shannon W. Bray of Angier in November.

Democratic primary:

Robert Colon of Rocky Point: robertcolonforsenate.com
Roy Cooper of Raleigh: roycooper.com
Justin E. Dues of Concord: justicewithdues.org
Daryl Farrow of Jacksonville
Orrick Quick of High Point: facebook.com/votequick
Marcus W. Williams of Wilmington

Republican primary:

Donald M. (Don) Brown of Waxhaw: donbrownfornc.com
Richard Dansie of Durham: dansieforsenate.us
Margot Dupre of Charlotte: votemargot.us ( The state Board of Elections ruled Feb. 4 that Dupre failed to prove she is a North Carolina resident, so votes in her favor won't count if the decision stands)
Thomas Johnson of Garner: tlj2026.com
Michele Morrow of Cary: morrow4nc.com
Elizabeth A. Temple of Smithfield
Michael Whatley of Gastonia: michaelwhatley.com

U.S. House of Representatives: Seventh Congressional District

Republican primary only:

David Buzzer of Wilmington: nc4buzzard.org
Rep. David Rouzer (incumbent) of Wilmington: davidrouzer.com

The winner will face Democrat Kimberly Hardy of Fayetteville and Libertarian Maad Abu-Ghazalah of Wilmington in the November election.

U.S. House of Representatives: Ninth Congressional District

Democratic primary only:

Loren Bibler of Raleigh: biblerforprogress.com
Nigel W. Bristow of Hamlet: nigelbristowforcongress.com
Lent C. Carr of Raeford: lentcarrforuscongress.com
Richard N. Ojeda II of Aberdeen: ojedafornc.com

The winner will face the incumbent, Republican Rep. Richard Hudson , in November.

State Court of Appeals judges

Three State Court of Appeals seats are up for election this year. There's no primary for Seat 2, where incumbent Judge Toby Hampson, a Raleigh Democrat, will face a challenge from Republican George Cooper Bell of Cornelius in November.

Seat 1, Republican primary only:

Michael C. Byrne of Raleigh: mb4nc.com
Matt Smith of Monroe: votemattsmithjudge.com

The winner will face incumbent Judge John S. Arrowood of Raleigh, a Democrat, in November.

Seat 3, Democratic primary only:

James Weldon Whalen of Raleigh: whalenfornc.com
Christine Marie Walczyk of Raleigh: judgechristine.org

The winner in that contest will face Republican Craig Collins of Gastonia in November.

North Carolina State Senate

Cumberland County is represented by two seats in the state Senate. There's no primary in Senate District 19. Democratic Sen. Val Applewhite of Fayetteville will face Republican Venus de la Cruz of Fayetteville in November.

District 21, Republican primary only:

Ray Daly of Carthage: ray4senate.com
Sen. Tom McInnis (incumbent) of Pinehurst: mcinnisfornc.com

The winner will face Democrat Paul Taylor of Spring Lake in November.

North Carolina House of Representatives

Cumberland County is represented by four seats in the state House of Representatives. There's no primary in District 42, represented by Democratic Rep. Mike Colvin of Fayetteville, who has no challengers from any party. There's also no primary in District 44, represented by Democratic Rep. Charles Smith of Fayetteville. He'll face Republican Jackie Weyhenmeyer of Fayetteville in November.

The following House seats have primaries:

District 43:

Democratic primary:Janene Ackles ( electackles.com ) of Fayetteville will face Ronald Pittman of Fayetteville.
Republican primary:Incumbent Rep. Diane Wheatley ( dianewheatleync.com ) of Linden will face challenger Clarence Goins Jr. ( facebook.com/ClarenceGoinsforNCHouse ) of Eastover.

District 45:

Democratic primary only:Incumbent Rep. Frances Jackson ( francesjackson.com ) of Fayetteville will face challenger QuDerrick R. Covington ( quderrickcovington.com ) of Hope Mills. No Republicans are running for this seat, so the winner of the Democratic primary will be the sole name on the ballot in November.

Cumberland County District Court

Seven of the county's 10 District Court seats are up for election this year. Five of the incumbent judges, all of whom are Democrats, face no competition and will be the sole names on November ballots: Seat 1, held by Judge Toni S. King; Seat 2, held by Judge Frances McDuffie Britt; Seat 4, held by Judge Tracey Henderson; Seat 6, held by Judge Rosalyn Hood; and Seat 7, held by Judge Caitlyn Evans.

Two of the District Court seats will have primary elections.

Seat 3

Democratic primary only:Tyran Jamail George ( tyranjgeorgeforjudgenc.com ) will face Sherry Miller ( sherrymillerforjudge.com ) for the seat held by Judge David Hasty, a Democrat who is not seeking reelection. There are no other candidates, so the winner of the primary will be the sole name on the ballot in November.

Seat 5

Democratic primary only:Judge Cheri Siler-Mack ( keepjudgesilermack.com ) will face a challenge from Brenee Wynett Orozco ( electorozco.com ). The winner of the primary will face Republican Jonathan Strange in the November election.

Cumberland County Sheriff

Democratic primary only:

Joe Bailer of Hope Mills: facebook.com/joebailerforsheriff
Former Spring Lake Police Chief Troy A. McDuffie: electtroymcduffie.com
Sheriff Johnathan T. Morgan (incumbent)
Demetrio Perez of Fort Bragg: Search "Perez for Sheriff" on Facebook

The winner of the March primary will face Republican LaRue Windham in the November election.

Cumberland County Board of Commissioners District 1 (two seats)

Democratic primary only:

Commissioner Glenn Adams (incumbent): instagram.com/glennadams1977
Sheila Cuffee: sheilacuffee.com
Garry (Moe) Murray: facebook.com/Garrymoemurray
Terri S. Thomas: territhomasnc.org
Larry O. Wright Sr.: electlarrywright.com

More on this race: Five Democrats running for Cumberland County commissioner District 1 seats

There are no Republican challengers, so the top two vote-getters in the March Democratic primary will be the only two names on ballots in November.

Cumberland County Board of Commissioners At-large (two seats)