{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Ruth McCune Hartness","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRuth McCune Hartness is the incumbent Vance County Board of Education member for District 7. She filed in December 2025 to retain her seat as a Democrat [1], but lost the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary to challenger Angela Cooper Lyons. Only Lyons and Republican Hailey Breeze Macklin appear on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot for the seat, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections' 2026 candidate filing list [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Candidate Filings For March 2026 Primary - WIZS](https://wizs.com/candidate-filings-for-march-2026-primary/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n[2] NC State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing List (Vance County) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21","firstname":"Ruth","lastname":"Hartness","middlename":"Mccune","suffix":null,"token":"8ca6c748b70e5d79"},"token":"81-pCmIxcysXniq8"},{"candidatename":"Angela Cooper Lyons","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Angela Cooper Lyons is a registered voter in Vance County, North Carolina, registered since 1988 (38 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Angela Cooper Lyons's year of birth as 1966; 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 9 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 Angela Cooper Lyons 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":"Angela","lastname":"Lyons","middlename":"Cooper","suffix":null,"token":"2687ed3e5ea0a41b"},"token":"W_-a8cCIpDwQmXP2"},{"candidatename":"Blakely Lee Bates","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\n**Update: Bates lost the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary for this seat, finishing third with 112 votes (about 12%) behind winner Angela Cooper Lyons (494 votes), and will not appear on the November 2026 ballot [3].**\n\nBlakely Lee Bates was a Democratic candidate for the Vance County Board of Education District 7 seat in the 2026 election. He was one of three Democrats -- alongside incumbent Ruth M. Hartness and Angela Cooper Lyons -- who filed for the seat by the December 19, 2025 filing deadline; Republican Hailey Breeze Macklin also filed and awaited the Democratic primary winner in the November general election [1].\n\n## Career\n\nAt a February 2026 Vance County Association of Educators candidate forum, Bates was the only District 7 candidate to attend (Hartness, Lyons, and Macklin did not participate). He said the county lacked funds to meet the VCAE's teacher-pay requests because of jail construction costs, and suggested cutting positions at the district office to help fund raises instead [2].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Candidate Filings For March 2026 Primary - WIZS](https://wizs.com/candidate-filings-for-march-2026-primary/) -- accessed 2026-07-19\n- [2] [Educators question candidates on pay - Henderson Daily Dispatch](https://www.hendersondispatch.com/archives/educators-question-candidates-on-pay/article_68603642-b1b9-5420-9540-c2714b6acb97.html) -- accessed 2026-07-19 (published 2026-02-18)\n- [3] [March 2026 Vance County Election Results - WIZS](https://wizs.com/march-2026-primary-election-coverage/) -- accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Blakely","lastname":"Bates","middlename":"Lee","suffix":null,"token":"e7bcd33a90f08f89"},"token":"UIn1vz5PzkCZT_m0"}],"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":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Vance County Board Of Education District 07"}