{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Mike Burrus","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMichael Jordan Burrus served as a Dare County Commissioner for District 1, having been seated on December 2, 2024. He ran for a full term in the 2026 Republican primary but lost to Board of Education Chair David Twiddy, who received 40.21% of the vote to Burrus's 32% in the three-way race.\n\n## Background and education\nBurrus is a lifelong resident of Wanchese, North Carolina, whose family has roots in Dare County spanning more than 350 years. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Mount Olive.\n\n## Career\nBurrus is self-employed in the construction industry.\n\nBurrus is an active youth sports coach and has done pro-bono construction work for elderly residents in his community.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [District 1 Dare Commissioner candidates on their qualifications \u2013 Outer Banks Voice](https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2026/02/09/district-1-dare-commissioner-candidates-on-their-qualifications-and-the-key-issues/)\n- [2] [Questions for the Candidates: Dare Commissioner District 1 \u2013 Island Free Press](https://islandfreepress.org/outer-banks-news/questions-for-the-candidates-dare-commissioner-district-1-bea-basnight-michael-burrus/)\n","firstname":"Michael","lastname":"Burrus","middlename":"Jordan","suffix":null,"token":"5c8008167a5b276a"},"token":"TCOOpMC5q6t5U96y"},{"candidatename":"David Twiddy","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nDavid Twiddy is a Republican candidate seeking election to the Dare County Commission for District 01 in the 2026 general election.[6] He previously served as Chair of the Dare Board of Education, where he was re-elected in December 2025.[2] Twiddy won a seat on the Dare County Board of Education at-large in the November 2024 general election, defeating Democratic candidate Melissa Zehner, 61.17% to 38.83%.[7]\n\nTwiddy secured the Republican nomination for the county commission seat after winning the primary election held in March 2026.[4] The primary also featured Ross, who was victorious in the concurrent commissioner race.[3] As of May 12, 2026, Twiddy remains on the ballot for the upcoming general election, with the outcome yet to be determined.\n\n## Background and education\n\nDavid Twiddy is a resident of Dare County who has pursued higher education at East Carolina University (per his Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey) [1]. He identifies as Christian and self-describes his political affiliation as Republican, per the same survey [1].\n\nTwiddy\u2019s professional background includes work in the construction industry, where he served as a project manager for various commercial projects across North Carolina, per his Ballotpedia survey [1]. Prior to his current campaign, he was active in local education governance, serving on the Dare County Board of Education [2].\n\n## Office history\n\nDavid Twiddy served on the Dare County Board of Education as an at-large member [1]. He was elected to this position in November 2024, defeating Democratic candidate Melissa Zehner 61.17% to 38.83% [5][7]. During his tenure, he was elected Chair of the Board, and was re-elected Chair in December 2025 [2].\n\nTwiddy is a candidate for the Dare County Commission, District 01, in the 2026 election cycle [6]. He secured the Republican nomination for this seat by winning the party primary in March 2026 [3]. The general election for this office is scheduled for November 2026 [2].\n\n## Business interests and wealth source\n\nDavid Twiddy\u2019s professional background is rooted in the hospitality industry, where he has held executive leadership roles within family-owned enterprises [6]. He previously served as the president of Outer Banks Lodging, a company that manages vacation rental properties in Dare County [6]. In addition to his role at Outer Banks Lodging, Twiddy has been involved with other family businesses, including Twiddy & Company and Beach House Rentals [6].\n\nFinancial disclosures filed for his 2024 campaign for the Dare County Board of Education indicated that he held significant ownership stakes in these hospitality firms [1]. The sources do not provide specific details regarding the sale of any businesses or precise net worth figures, but they confirm his active management and ownership interests in the region's vacation rental sector during his prior political campaigns [1][6].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [David Twiddy (Dare County Schools, District 5 At-large, North Carolina, candidate 2024) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/David_Twiddy_(Dare_County_Schools_school_board_At-large,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2024))\n[2] [The Outer Banks Voice - David Twiddy, running to be a Dare Commissioner in 2026, re-elected Chair of the Dare Board of Education](https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2025/12/09/david-twiddy-running-to-be-a-dare-commissioner-in-2026-re-elected-chair-of-the-dare-board-of-education/)\n[3] [Rawls wins GOP primary for Dare sheriff; Twiddy, Ross take commissioner races | Island Free Press](https://islandfreepress.org/outer-banks-news/rawls-wins-gop-primary-for-dare-sheriff-twiddy-ross-take-commissioner-races/)\n[4] [The Outer Banks Voice - Rawls wins Dare Sheriff\u2019s contest, Twiddy, Ross and Nichols also victorious in county primaries](https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2026/03/04/rawls-wins-dare-sheriffs-contest-twiddy-ross-and-nichols-also-victorious-in-county-primaries/)\n[5] [The Outer Banks Voice - Zehner versus Twiddy in Dare Board of Education At-large race](https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2024/10/21/zehner-versus-twiddy-in-dare-board-of-education-at-large-race/)\n[6] [The Outer Banks Voice - Dare Ed Board Chair Twiddy to run for seat on Board of Commissioners in 2026](https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2025/11/20/dare-ed-board-chair-twiddy-to-run-for-seat-on-board-of-commissioners-in-2026/)\n[7] [Dare County Republicans sweep local races \u2013 Island Free Press](https://islandfreepress.org/outer-banks-news/dare-county-republicans-sweep-local-races/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19","firstname":"David","lastname":"Twiddy","middlename":"Mccoy","suffix":null,"token":"e44721162253ba7c"},"token":"xthe1Gau3ZMHlvDp"},{"candidatename":"Edgar L. Barnes","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Edgar L Barnes is a registered voter in Dare County, North Carolina, registered since 1990 (36 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Edgar L Barnes's year of birth as 1959; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 14 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Edgar L Barnes can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Edgar","lastname":"Barnes","middlename":"L","suffix":null,"token":"85f180c0d4a719f3"},"token":"hsXWxDJbW9cBn2eQ"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":"county_commission","office":"county_commission","officedescription":"A county commissioner is a member of the county's legislative body. The commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, authorizes borrowing, and passes county resolutions and ordinances. Commissioners are elected from districts (or at-large seats) to represent constituents on countywide policy.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment on countywide matters \u2014 budget, taxes, land use, services, and intergovernmental issues \u2014 within Tennessee county-government law.\n- Budget literacy: the commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, and authorizes multi-year bond issues.\n- Legislative process: drafting, amending, and voting on resolutions and ordinances; committee work that pre-screens items.\n- Constituent relations in the district \u2014 case-work and community issues flow through the commissioner's office.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual continuing education through UT CTAS.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Commissioner","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Dare County Board Of Commissioners District 01"}