{"biography":"Thomas Brace O'Leske, an accountant and Army Reserve veteran, was a Republican candidate for the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners seat then held by incumbent Dan Eichenbaum, but withdrew from the March 3, 2026 primary on January 2, 2026, saying, \"Because I don't want to divide support and risk changing the outcome in the wrong direction, I've decided to step aside and support Barry Killian\" [1]. His name remained on the ballot; he received 88 votes (2.18%) in a race Sue Lynn Ledford won outright with 45.42% [2]. According to the North Carolina voter file, O'Leske is a registered Republican in Cherokee County, registered since 2020, with a recorded birth year of 1976 [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Commission Candidate drops out of District 4 race \u2013 Cherokee Scout](https://www.cherokeescout.com/local-newsletter/commission-candidate-drops-out-district-4-race)\n[2] [Voters toss incumbents in Cherokee County elections \u2013 Cherokee Scout](https://www.cherokeescout.com/local-news/voters-toss-incumbent-cherokee-county-commissioners)\n[3] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_i","county":"cherokee","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Cherokee County Board Of Commissioners District I"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Thomas","fullname":"Thomas Brace O'Leske","lastname":"O'Leske","middlename":"Brace","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_i","contest_title":"Cherokee County Board Of Commissioners District I","county":"cherokee","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"cherokee","office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"cherokee","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_i","contest_title":"Cherokee County Board Of Commissioners District I","county":"cherokee","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"cherokee","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":"Per the NC voter file: REP voter in Cherokee County since 2020.","terms":[],"token":"8597833c8697a9c7"}