{"biography":"Justin Dawkins is the incumbent Republican member of the Richmond County Board of Commissioners and is seeking re\u2011election in the 2026 race for one of the four county commissioner seats\u202f[9]. The Board of Commissioners serves as Richmond County\u2019s governing body, with four seats up for election each cycle\u202f[9].\n\nDawkins was first appointed to the Board in 2020 to complete the term of Ben\u202fMoss after Moss won a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives and resigned\u202f[6][9]. He subsequently ran as a Republican candidate in the 2022 general election and retained his seat\u202f[1][9].\n\nProfessionally, Dawkins is the director of operations for the von\u202fDrehle Corporation, a manufacturing firm. Over roughly 15\u202fyears he has worked in a range of manufacturing roles, from engineering to senior operations leadership\u202f[6]. He is active in local and state business and civic organizations: he serves on the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce\u2019s Environmental Policy Committee, was elected to the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in 2023, volunteers with the Richmond County Special Olympics planning committee, and is treasurer of the Rockingham Masonic Lodge\u202f[6].\n\nDuring his appointment and campaign, Dawkins emphasized continuing Richmond County\u2019s recent economic\u2011development momentum and improving the relationship between the county government and its municipalities\u202f[6]. He described himself as \u201cexcited and humbled\u201d to serve and highlighted a commitment to transparency, listening to residents, and leveraging his business experience to support the county\u2019s growth\u202f[6].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Justin Dawkins (Richmond County Board of Commissioners, North Carolina, candidate 2022) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Justin_Dawkins_(Richmond_County_Board_of_Commissioners,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2022))\n- [6] [Local Republicans nominate Justin Dawkins to fill Moss\u2019s seat | Richmond County Daily Journal](https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/news/97643/local-republicans-nominate-justin-dawkins-to-fill-mosss-seat)\n- [9] [Filing for Richmond County elections opens Dec. 1 - Richmond Observer](https://www.richmondobserver.com/stories/filing-for-richmond-county-elections-opens-dec-1,72180)","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission","county":"richmond","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Richmond County Board Of Commissioners"},{"contest":"county_commission","county":"richmond","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Richmond County Board Of Commissioners"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Justin","fullname":"Justin Duane Dawkins","lastname":"Dawkins","middlename":"Duane","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission","contest_title":"Richmond County Board Of Commissioners","county":"richmond","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":"richmond","office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},{"contest":"county_commission","contest_title":"Richmond County Board Of Commissioners","county":"richmond","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"richmond","office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"richmond","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission","contest_title":"Richmond County Board Of Commissioners","county":"richmond","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"richmond","office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Incumbent Republican commissioner Justin Dawkins, appointed in 2020 and re\u2011elected in 2022, is running for another term on the Richmond County Board of Commissioners.","terms":[],"token":"3f08fa783f3fba2d"}