{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Ryan Collins","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nRyan Collins is a candidate for Pender County Board of Commissioners District 2 in North Carolina [1]. He announced his campaign on November 1, 2025, stating that he seeks to \"restore leadership, rebuild trust, and renew integrity\" in county government [6]. Collins describes himself as bringing decades of leadership and management experience and a commitment to conservative principles [5]. His campaign website, collinsforpender.com, promotes a mission to restore strong leadership and service that puts the community above politics [4].\n\nThe Republican primary election for Pender County offices is scheduled for March 3, 2026 [5][7]. Collins has participated in local events to introduce himself to voters, including a candidate forum hosted by the Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce on January 29, 2026 [7]. He has also established an early voting presence at the Hampstead Annex Building during the early voting period leading up to the November 3, 2026 general election [4].\n\nThe campaign has faced scrutiny regarding its fundraising operations. In February 2026, the group Educate Pender PAC highlighted that a fundraiser for Collins was charged with multiple offenses, including violent crimes, weapons charges, and writing bad checks [8]. Collins continues to seek voter support in the upcoming general election on November 3, 2026 [4].\n\n## Career\n\nRyan Collins self-describes as having \"decades of leadership and management experience\" [5]. He operates a business in Hampstead, North Carolina, where he has served as a voting day coordinator during early voting periods for upcoming elections [4].\n\nCollins is a candidate for Pender County Board of Commissioners District 2 in the 2026 election cycle [1]. He officially announced his candidacy on November 1, 2025, stating his intention to \"restore leadership, rebuild trust, and renew integrity\" in county government [6]. His campaign focuses on conservative principles and community unity [5], [9]. Collins participated in a candidate forum hosted by the Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce on January 29, 2026 [7].\n\nThe Pender County Board of Elections scheduled a primary election for March 3, 2026, which Collins is contesting [3], [5]. The general election is set for November 3, 2026 [4]. As of May 17, 2026, these elections have not yet occurred.\n\nCollins has filed campaign finance reports with Pender County as required by local regulations [2]. His campaign has faced scrutiny from political opponents; an opposing group reported that a fundraiser associated with his campaign was charged with multiple violent crimes and weapons offenses [8].\n\n## Office history\n\nRyan Collins has served as a member of the Pender County Board of Commissioners for District 2 [1]. He announced his candidacy for re-election to this position in November 2025, stating that he seeks to restore leadership and integrity to the county government [6]. Collins identifies himself as a candidate with decades of leadership and management experience who is committed to conservative principles [5].\n\nCollins is currently seeking re-election in the upcoming 2026 Pender County Commissioner District 2 race. He qualified for the March 3, 2026, Republican primary election [5]. The general election for this office is scheduled for November 3, 2026 [4]. As of May 17, 2026, the outcome of these elections remains unknown.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Ryan Collins (Pender County Board of Commissioners District 2 ...](https://ballotpedia.org/Ryan_Collins_(Pender_County_Board_of_Commissioners_District_2,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2026))\n[2] [Campaign Finance Reports | Pender County, NC](https://www.pendercountync.gov/1962/Campaign-Finance-Reports)\n[3] [Pender County Board of Elections Announces Primary Election ...](https://www.pendercountync.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=219)\n[4] [Collins for Pender: Local Elections in Pender County](https://collinsforpender.com/)\n[5] [Ryan Collins for Pender County](https://www.facebook.com/61582699473316/posts/vote-ryan-collins-in-the-march-3rd-gop-primary-for-pender-county-commissioner-di/122119788369089982/)\n[6] [Ryan Collins runs for Pender County Commissioner District 2](https://www.facebook.com/61582699473316/posts/it-was-a-wonderful-evening-to-share-some-exciting-news-im-officially-running-for/122102609145089982/)\n[7] [\u201cI'm Ryan Collins and I am running for County Commissioner of ...](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUJvxLdDqrj/)\n[8] [RYAN COLLINS FUNDRAISER CHARGED WITH ...](https://www.facebook.com/educatependerpac/posts/ryan-collins-fundraiser-charged-with-multiple-violent-crimes-weapons-charges-wri/122181339842865252/)\n[9] [I'm running for County Commissioner because Pender ...](https://www.facebook.com/61582699473316/posts/im-running-for-county-commissioner-because-pender-county-deserves-leadership-tha/122106255129089982/)","firstname":"Ryan","lastname":"Collins","middlename":"Christopher","suffix":null,"token":"f52b98e331f4b48b"},"token":"BdmTi2W_KKqrohoO"},{"candidatename":"Randy Burton","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nWilliam Randy Burton ran as the Republican candidate for Pender County Board of Commissioners District 02 in the March 3, 2026 primary but did not advance, receiving 2397 votes to Ryan Collins's 4022, per North Carolina State Board of Elections certified primary results [1]. William Randy Burton will not appear on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot for this race.\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, William Randy Burton is a registered voter in Pender County, North Carolina, registered since 2002 (24 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [2].\n\nThe voter file shows William Randy Burton's year of birth as 1967; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [2].\n\nThe voter history file shows 10 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [3].\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 William Randy Burton can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] North Carolina State Board of Elections, certified March 3, 2026 primary results, PENDER County precinct-level results (`PENDER_PRECINCT_SORT.txt`), https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_precinct_sort/PENDER_PRECINCT_SORT.txt \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n\n[2] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"William","lastname":"Burton","middlename":"Randy","suffix":null,"token":"2c5b47132ee42990"},"token":"YzquwMY7vCcVQP6l"}],"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":"Pender County Board Of Commissioners District 02"}