{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Beth Bronson","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBeth Bronson is the Democratic nominee for Orange County Board of Commissioners District 2 in North Carolina's 2026 election. She won the Democratic primary by 25 votes over four-term incumbent Earl McKee; a recount McKee requested, completed in March 2026, confirmed the margin [1]. Bronson will face Republican Louis Capitanio in the November 3, 2026 general election [1]. The Orange County Board of Commissioners sets county policy, adopts the county budget, and oversees services such as land use, economic development, and public safety [3].\n\nBronson's campaign priorities center on managing growth in District 2 \u2014 which she says is seeing development pressure that often arrives ahead of infrastructure and services \u2014 protecting natural resources such as waterways and agricultural land, and increasing transparency and public engagement earlier in the county's planning and budget processes [3].\n\n## Background and education\nBronson is 38 and a first-time candidate for elected office [3].\n\n## Career\nBronson works as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Division of Surgical Oncology at Duke University Health System [3]. Since 2022 she has held two appointed advisory roles with Orange County: an at-large seat on the Planning Advisory Board and a seat on the Board of Adjustment [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Recount Set for District 2 Commissioner Race in Orange County; 25 Votes Separate Bronson and McKee \u2013 Chapelboro.com](https://chapelboro.com/local-election-coverage/recount-set-for-district-2-commissioner-race-in-orange-county-25-votes-separate-bronson-and-mckee)\n[2] [Beth Bronson wins Democratic primary for Orange County Board of County Commissioners District 2 seat \u2013 Daily Tar Heel](https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/city-orange-county-board-of-county-commissioners-district-2-2026-primary-election-results-20260304)\n[3] [Orange County Board of County Commissioners, District 2: Beth Bronson \u2013 IndyWeek](https://indyweek.com/news/orange-county-board-of-county-commissioners-beth-bronson-2026/)","firstname":"Elizabeth","lastname":"Bronson","middlename":"Rose","suffix":null,"token":"4ec5658b95bce212"},"token":"x4A3qGf-v0cYCWNU"},{"candidatename":"Earl McKee","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"**March 3, 2026 primary result: McKee narrowly lost the Democratic primary for Orange County Board of Commissioners District 02, finishing second of two candidates with 5,458 votes to Beth Bronson's 5,483 [3].**\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Earl Thomas Mckee is a registered voter in Orange County, North Carolina, registered since 1972 (54 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Earl Thomas Mckee's year of birth as 1952; 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 12 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 Earl Thomas Mckee 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 (`results_pct_20260303`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/index.html?prefix=ENRS/2026_03_03/)","firstname":"Earl","lastname":"Mckee","middlename":"Thomas","suffix":null,"token":"bc97d0a74d7eac73"},"token":"PqUut2nT_-4dieNL"}],"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":"Orange County Board Of Commissioners District 02"}