Western Republicans buck national trend in Nov. 4 election
Republicans have something to celebrate — at least, in Western North Carolina.
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Overwhelmingly, municipal officials take pride in their nonpartisan service, but once they’re elected, they don’t just leave their party hats at the chamber doors.
Despite claims that “there’s no Republican/Democratic way to fill a pothole,” the partisan composition of municipal governing boards can be an indicator of how those boards approach issues philosophically — especially divisive social issues. Further, these municipal boards can serve as springboards for candidates who will gain experience and one day run for higher partisan offices. But perhaps most critically, the results of even the smallest municipal election can be viewed through the lens of national trends in an effort to divine some larger sense of meaning.
For the first time in quite some time, Democrats nationally have something to celebrate — important wins in California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York and Virginia, among other places. Those wins could possibly be interpreted as a broader statement against Republicans up and down the ballot due to the deep unpopularity of President Donald Trump and a weak economy, or they could be interpreted as isolated, case-specific races that don’t necessarily indicate how 2026 will turn out for Democrats or Republicans.
Then there’s the growing category of unaffiliated voters, who can be far-left, far-right or anywhere in between. They hold significant power in the rural west and are the largest category of voters in North Carolina.
In The Smoky Mountain News core coverage area of Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, candidates, as always, ran in nonpartisan elections on Nov. 4. The winners will join nonpartisan boards consisting of incumbents who didn’t have to run this year.
Before the Nov. 4 election, the elected officials in those towns and villages numbered 24 Democrats, 14 unaffiliated and seven Republicans.
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After the election, the total was 23 Democrats, 13 unaffiliated and nine Republicans.
Some quick math shows that voters in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties bucked the national trend of Democrat victories; Dems lost a seat, as did unaffiliated voters, while Republicans gained two seats.
Six Democrat incumbents successfully defended their seats (Kristina Proctor and Tim Shepard in Canton, Frank Lay in Clyde, Anthony Sutton in Waynesville, Daniel Shields in Forest Hills and Rita Salain in Franklin), as did three unaffiliated incumbents (Tim Hines and Ben King in Bryson City, Joe Waldrum in Sylva) and two Republican incumbents (Julia Freeman in Waynesville and Dale Collins in Webster).
Republicans flipped two seats by defeating Democrat incumbents — Ron Mau over Forest Hills Mayor Marcia Almond and Cory Nuckolls over Diane Fore in Clyde.
Democrats didn’t flip any seats held by Republican or unaffiliated candidates; however, an unaffiliated candidate did flip a Republican seat — Perry Matthews, in Sylva, ousted Jon Brown.
Ten people won seats for the first time, almost evenly split among all three affiliations. Four Republicans (Amy Bollinger in Forest Hills, Travis Higdon in Franklin, Nuckolls and Mau), three Democrats (Sam McGuire in Sylva, Brad Reisinger in Webster, Jeff Berry in Franklin) and three unaffiliated candidates — Matthews, Sara Stahlman in Webster and Stacy Guffey in Franklin — all assumed new roles.
Guffey was previously a Franklin council member, and Mau was previously a county commissioner and Forest Hills board member, and thus neither are new to elected office or public service.
Prior to the election, the eight municipal governing boards in SMN’s four-county core that held competitive elections this year consisted of five Dem-majority boards and three unaffiliated-majority boards.
After the election, Democrats still controlled four, unaffiliated candidates controlled three and Republicans finally got on the scoreboard by flipping Forest Hills to red.
Here's a look at the partisan compositions of those municipal governing boards, before and after the Nov. 4 election.
HAYWOOD COUNTY
CANTON
Mayor before: D
Mayor after: D
Board before: 4 D
Board after: 4 D
Takeaway: Democrats maintain dominance in Canton.
CLYDE
Mayor before: D
Mayor after: D
Board before: 3 D, 1 R
Board after: 2 D, 2 R
Takeaway: Slight Republican gain, but still Dem majority including mayor.
WAYNESVILLE
Mayor before: D
Mayor after: D
Board before: 3 D, 1 R
Board after: 3 D, 1 R
Takeaway: No change to Democrat-majority board.
JACKSON COUNTY
FOREST HILLS
Mayor before: D
Mayor after: R
Board before: 2 D, 1 R, 1 U
Board after: 2 D, 2 R
Takeaway: Republicans flipped a solidly Democratic board.
SYLVA
Mayor before: D
Mayor after: D
Board before: 3 U, 2 R
Board after: 3 U, 1 D, 1 R
Takeaway: Small progress for Democrats on what remains a majority-unaffiliated board led by a Democrat.
WEBSTER
Mayor before: D
Mayor after: U
Board before: 2 D, 2 U, 1 R
Board after: 2 D, 2 U, 1 R
Takeaway: Unaffiliated candidates take control from Dems.
MACON COUNTY
Franklin
Mayor before: U
Mayor after: U
Board before: 3 D, 3 U, 1 R
Board after: 4 D, 2 U, 1 R
Takeaway: Dems flip unaffiliated board, gain working majority under unaffiliated mayor.
SWAIN COUNTY
Bryson City
Mayor before: U
Mayor after: U
Board before: 3 U, 1 D
Board after: 3 U, 1 D
Takeaway: No changes to a solid unaffiliated board.
