ELIZABETHTOWN —Like the Republican tide that rolled nationwide and statewide in the Nov. 8 general election, the GOP washed through Bladen County as nearly 70 percent of registered voters went to the polls.
According to numbers from the Bladen County Board of Elections, a total of 15,892 ballots were cast for a percentage of 69.64 turnout among registered voters.
“It was a trmendous turnout,” said Bladen County Board of Elections Chair Bobby Ludlum. “We started strong and finished strong.”
Bladen County, which votes predominantly Democrat, went strongly Republican and sent three new members to the county’s Board of Commissioners.
“We did great,” said Bladen County Republican Party Chairman Landon Bordeaux on his party’s results. “We had a really good showing.”
That showing resulted in something that hasn’t happened in quite some time in Bladen County — a nod to the Republican presidential nominee. Bordeaux speculated that one might have to go back to Hoover’s days in the 1930s to find a Republican president backed by Bladen County.
“I do think things are shifting,” said Bordeaux. “Our meetings have been getting larger — they’re bigger than they’ve ever been — and we have two past chairs who are very active in the party right now. They’re great folks and good organizers who help the party. This election was a great effort for all of us.”
Not only did the Mother County tip her hat to Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton for president, but the sole Republican on the Board of County Commissioners was replaced by three red-shirts, Pauline Hankins’ conservative stance won her a judicial seat, and Bladen County residents opted for another four years of Gov. Pat McCrory’s leadership — though that race remains too close to call overall. Of the 16 partisan challenged seats, Bladen County voters declined the donkey in all but five.
*** First Vote NC results ***
The trend to red isn’t just among voting adults. West Bladen High School recently participated in the First Vote NC program, a statewide simulation election in which high school students vote on federal, state, and local races and issues.
West Bladen students chose Trump by a narrow margin (43.7 percent to 40.7 percent) and stayed with the elephant for all other national and state races as well. In fact, the only races in which West students chose Democrat more often than Republican were races in which a non-answer was the most predominant choice, such as in the N.C. Commissioner race. West students, in general, preferred red over blue by an 11 percent margin in each race.
Students overwhelmingly said yes (82.5 percent), North Carolina curriculum should include more life skill classes. When asked, regarding data on cell phones and PCs, which was more important: safety or privacy, 56.2 percent favored privacy. Along the same lines as their voting caretakers, 73.5 percent rejected the sales tax.
The at-large Board of Commissioners race was divided into two tables: a “Bladen County Commissioners” race that included Democrats Pam Benton, Jimmie Smith and Michael Cogdell, and a “Bladen County Commissioners Countywide” race that included Republicans David Gooden and Ray Britt and Libertarian Randy Crow. Additionally, the District 3 commissioner race didn’t include Ken Register, Jr., so meaningful information was hard to obtain from those tables, only that the largest voter-getter among adults (Michael Cogdell) received the fewest votes among students (8.8 percent).
But despite the fact that Democratic county commissioner candidate Michael Cogdell allegedly broke election laws when he took a photo inside the voting booth, residents still rendered him more votes than any of the other five candidates.
Along those lines, Democratic N.C. House candidate Tim Benton made national news when he allegedly assaulted Republican opponent Brenden Jones at the Beast Fest the weekend before Halloween. Though Jones won the spot by carrying other counties, Benton was given the nod by his home county of Bladen.
Ludlum reported no problems with voting or with any glitches on Election Day and said the board is hoping to canvass the results on Friday.
Chrysta Carroll can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.