{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Bettina Umstead","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"","person":{"biography":"**Status: Umstead lost the March 3, 2026 nonpartisan election for Durham County Board of Education District 2, finishing second of three candidates with 4,169 votes (27.3%); Nadeen Bir won with 9,415 votes (61.6%) and Rachel Waltz placed third with 1,691 (11.1%). This nonpartisan race was decided outright on March 3 with no November runoff [3].**\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Bettina Hope Umstead is a registered voter in Durham County, North Carolina, registered since 2012 (14 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Bettina Hope Umstead's year of birth as 1988; 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 20 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 Bettina Hope Umstead 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/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, official March 3, 2026 primary election results by precinct, published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_pct_20260303.zip)","firstname":"Bettina","lastname":"Umstead","middlename":"Hope","suffix":null,"token":"bcf2690d6503348a"},"token":"7mq0HHJqcvyAk34p"},{"candidatename":"Nadeen Bir","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nNadeen Nakleh Bir ran for and won the Durham Public Schools Board of Education District 2 seat in the March 3, 2026 primary, defeating longtime incumbent Natalie Umstead with more than 61 percent of the vote.\n\n## Background and education\n\nBir is an Argentine journalist with more than 20 national journalism awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications of the United States.\n\n## Career\n\nBir is a co-founder of Enlace Latino NC, a bilingual news organization. She currently serves as co-executive director of Press On South, a nonprofit Southern collective for movement journalism. She has been active with the Durham Public Schools PTA, organizing Latino parent groups and supporting families through Public Schools Strong.\n\n## Family\n\nHer husband is a music teacher at Lakeview School in Durham.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Durham Public Schools Board of Education District 2: Nadeen Bir \u2013 Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/durham-public-schools-board-of-education-nadeen-bir-2026/)\n- [2] [Newcomer Bir defeats longtime school board member Umstead \u2013 9th Street Journal](https://9thstreetjournal.org/2026/03/04/newcomer-bir-defeats-longtime-school-board-member-umstead/)\n- [3] [Nadeen Bir advocates for safe and fair schools in Durham \u2013 Enlace Latino NC](https://enlacelatinonc.org/en/Nadeen-Bir-advocates-for-safe-and-fair-schools-in-Durham/)","firstname":"Nadeen","lastname":"Bir","middlename":"Nakleh","suffix":null,"token":"c6066e18bbc448ea"},"token":"lj0VfuYeGNOSaVIN"},{"candidatename":"Rachel Waltz","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"","person":{"biography":"**Status: Waltz lost the March 3, 2026 nonpartisan election for Durham County Board of Education District 2, finishing third of three candidates with 1,691 votes (11.1%); Nadeen Bir won with 9,415 votes (61.6%) and Bettina Umstead placed second with 4,169 (27.3%). This nonpartisan race was decided outright on March 3 with no November runoff [3].**\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Rachel Brooke Waltz is a registered voter in Durham County, North Carolina, registered since 2017 (9 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Rachel Brooke Waltz's year of birth as 1979; 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 17 elections voted in since 2018, 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 Rachel Brooke Waltz 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/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, official March 3, 2026 primary election results by precinct, published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_pct_20260303.zip)","firstname":"Rachel","lastname":"Waltz","middlename":"Brooke","suffix":null,"token":"992c74ed4393eb3a"},"token":"36eTveiCS7qUXfN3"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"school_board","o.office":"county_school_board","office":"county_school_board","officedescription":"A school board member serves on the elected body that governs a public school district. The board sets district policy and budget priorities and hires and evaluates the superintendent, while leaving day-to-day management to the administration.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment for a public school district \u2014 setting direction while leaving day-to-day management to the superintendent.\n- Budget literacy for operating and capital budgets, in coordination with the county commission (which appropriates) and the state.\n- Ability to hire, evaluate, and when necessary replace the superintendent \u2014 the board's highest-stakes recurring decision.\n- Constituent relations with parents, teachers, principals, and community members.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual training through the Tennessee School Boards Association.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County School Board Member","partisan":0,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Durham County Board Of Education District 02"}