Pless easily cruises to third term in House District 118
Rep. Mark Pless, seen here during a visit from the Israeli Consul General Oct. 29, won handily.
Cory Vaillancourt photo
Haywood County native and Republican Rep. Mark Pless will return to the North Carolina General Assembly for a third term after voters in Haywood and Madison Counties — both hit hard by Hurricane Helene a month ago — propelled him over his Democratic opponent earlier this evening.
Pless earned 30,687 votes, besting Marshall nurse Evelyn Davidson, who came away with 19,393 votes. His 61.28% tally this go-round approaches his career best of 63.6% in a 2020 victory over Alan Jones, however, Pless’ district included Yancey County at the time. In his most recent win, over Josh Remillard in 2022, Pless earned 60.28%.
Nonpartisan mapping website davesredistricting.org measured Republican performance in the district from 2016 to 2022 at 60.0%.
Pless currently serves in a number of leadership roles in the House that will help as his district, and indeed much of the mountain west, embarks on a long recovery from the Sept. 27 storm. In addition to serving as co-chair of the House disaster recovery and homeland security committee, Pless also serves as co-chair of the joint legislative emergency management oversight committee.
All results are considered unofficial until the State Board of Elections certify the results on Nov. 26.
