{"biography":"Teresa Hollar\u202fBranch is a Republican candidate for the Caldwell County Board of Education in the 2026 general election (Nov\u202f3,\u202f2026) in Caldwell,\u202fNC. The County Board of Education is a seven\u2011member body that governs the Caldwell County Schools district; members serve four\u2011year terms and are elected at\u2011large, with elections officially nonpartisan but candidates often identified by party affiliation\u202f[6][8].\n\nBranch has a long history of service to the district. She first won a seat on the at\u2011large school board in the 2010 election, serving a term that ended in 2012\u202f[2]. After a brief hiatus, she was re\u2011elected in the 2014 general election, securing 20.8\u202f% of the vote\u202f[2]. She continued to serve through subsequent elections, most recently appearing on the ballot in the 2022 general election for an at\u2011large seat\u202f[1][6]. According to the board roster, her current term runs through 2026, making her the incumbent in this race\u202f[6].\n\nIn addition to her elected roles, Branch has worked extensively in education administration. She is a former teacher, assistant principal, and principal, and she served as the director of Exceptional Children for the district\u202f[12]. In 2023 she took on the role of interim director of Caldwell County Smart Start, a program that expands pre\u2011K opportunities and partners with child\u2011care centers to increase early\u2011learning capacity\u202f[12]. Her professional focus has emphasized expanding early childhood education and supporting students from birth through the start of school.\n\nBranch\u2019s campaign filings list her email as branchnc@gmail.com (also shown as BRANCHNC@GMAIL.COM)\u202f[1][8]. No phone number or personal campaign website is provided in the available sources. While Ballotpedia does not include a portrait, the site lists only placeholder images for candidates, so a definitive candidate photo is not available.\n\nOverall, Branch brings over a decade of board experience, a background in school leadership, and recent work directing early\u2011education initiatives to her candidacy for the 2026 Caldwell County Board of Education.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Teresa Branch (Caldwell County Schools school board At-large, North Carolina, candidate 2022) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Teresa_Branch_(Caldwell_County_Schools_school_board_At-large,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2022))\n- [2] [Teresa Branch - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Teresa_Branch)\n- [3] [Teresa Branch (Caldwell County Board of Education, North Carolina, candidate 2022) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Teresa_Branch_(Caldwell_County_Board_of_Education,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2022))\n- [4] [Caldwell County, North Carolina, elections, 2026 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Caldwell_County,_North_Carolina,_elections,_2026)\n- [5] [Caldwell County, North Carolina, elections, 2022 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Caldwell_County,_North_Carolina,_elections,_2022)\n- [6] [Caldwell County Schools, North Carolina, elections - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Caldwell_County_Schools,_North_Carolina,_elections)\n- [7] [William Fore (Caldwell County Schools school board At-large, North Carolina, candidate 2022) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/William_Fore_(Caldwell_County_Schools_school_board_At-large,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2022))\n- [8] [Teresa Branch (Caldwell County Schools school board At-large, North Carolina, candidate 2026) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Teresa_Branch_(Caldwell_County_Schools_school_board_At-large,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2026))\n- [9] [North Carolina elections, 2026 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina_elections,_2026)\n- [10] [Candidate Lists | NCSBE](https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data/candidate-lists)\n- [11] [Caldwell County Schools - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldwell_County_Schools)\n- [12] [Teresa Branch takes reins as director of Caldwell County Smart Start [News-Topic, Lenoir, N.C.] - Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet](https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/Teresa-Branch-takes-reins-as-director-of-Caldwell-County-Smart-Start-%5BNews-Topic-a-410828)","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board","county":"caldwell","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Caldwell County Board Of Education"},{"contest":"county_school_board","county":"caldwell","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Caldwell County Board Of Education"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Teresa","fullname":"Teresa Hollar Branch","lastname":"Branch","middlename":"Hollar","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board","contest_title":"Caldwell County Board Of Education","county":"caldwell","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":"caldwell","office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},{"contest":"county_school_board","contest_title":"Caldwell County Board Of Education","county":"caldwell","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"caldwell","office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"caldwell","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_school_board","contest_title":"Caldwell County Board Of Education","county":"caldwell","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"caldwell","office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Teresa Branch is the incumbent Republican candidate for the Caldwell County Board of Education in 2026, with extensive experience as a teacher, administrator, and board member.","terms":[],"token":"1e6ad8e84be22a72"}