2026 Primary Elections

Primary elections are when we vote to determine who will be on the general election ballot in November. In North Carolina, primaries are partisan, which means there are separate ballots for each political party. Registered party members can only vote on their party’s ballot. Unaffiliated voters can choose which party ballot they want to vote on, but they can only vote on one. Your registration in the primary does not affect your ability to vote for the candidate of your choice in the general election.

What’s at Stake this March

Gerrymandering has made many races in North Carolina uncompetitive in the general election. Voting in our primaries is our chance to support candidates who represent our values, rather than leaving it to the politicians who draw the voting maps to decide.

This year, our primary votes can send a message to politicians from both political parties. We can send home those who have overridden Governor Stein’s vetoes on important issues like school vouchers, and we can elevate common-sense public school teachers who are running to challenge extremists in many rural counties.

There will be many races on the primary ballots in March. We will be choosing candidates to run for:

• U.S. Senate
• U.S. House of Representatives
• Judicial Seats where candidates will uphold our judiciary with integrity and transparency.
• NC House and Senate seats where candidates, if they win the general election, will help keep the Republicans from winning a veto-proof supermajority.
• School Board seats where we need candidates who believe in and will fight for our public schools.

Learn more below about who is on the ballot and how to make your plan to vote in the March primaries!

Make Your plan to vote!

Who’s on the Ballot?

We need to support common sense candidates who reflect our values — in every race up and down our ballot. That means filling out your full ballot and making sure to vote for school board and judicial candidates too!

You can find information below about candidates in key local races across the state. You can find your jurisdiction, polling place, and a sample ballot with additional candidates on your ballot here: vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup

Candidates with a green check mark next to their name have proven that they will fight for Red Wine & Blue’s values, like support for reproductive freedom, public education, and democracy.

Note: Not all North Carolina races are included in this list. Red Wine & Blue is working on the ground in these key races where we have identified candidates who will fight back against extremism in Raleigh and DC. If you’d like to see a sample of your ballot, you can look that up here on the NC Board of Elections website.

National Candidates

NC House Candidates

NC Senate Candidates

Regional Judicial Races

Local Races