{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nRobert Davis Drach, known as Bob Drach, is the Libertarian candidate for New Hanover County Board of Commissioners in the November 3, 2026 general election. Port City Daily describes him as \"a lone Libertarian\" in the commissioner field who \"has served as chair of the North Carolina Libertarian Party and ran for state auditor in 2024\" [2]. This is his second campaign, after running for North Carolina State Auditor in 2024 as the Libertarian nominee and receiving more than 3 percent of the statewide vote [1][2].\n\nPer his campaign website, Drach's platform centers on fiscal responsibility and reducing county debt, which he says is about $1,670 per person -- more than twice neighboring Brunswick County's $690 -- and is approaching the county's self-imposed $2,200 debt-capacity cap [1]. He says developers \"should not get a free ride,\" opposes development of conservation areas, and would direct the county's roughly $1 billion Endowment fund toward paying down debt, school funding, and tax relief rather than leaving it invested [1].\n\n## Background and education\n\nPer his campaign website's listed education history, Drach earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the College of William & Mary (1979-1982) and a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (1987-1989); the same page lists him as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) [1].\n\n## Career\n\nDrach's campaign website lists a career spanning 1985 to 2019 including the U.S. Peace Corps, Deloitte, Rain Bird Sprinkler, and HMF Express, alongside the roles teacher, consultant, director, and president, without pairing specific employers to specific roles or dates [1]. In his 2024 Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey -- a self-reported, candidate-completed questionnaire, not independently verified against a primary source -- Drach describes his own background as including chief executive, chief financial, and chief information officer titles [3].\n\n## Office history\n\nPer his own 2024 Ballotpedia candidate survey, Drach has served on his county's Board of Equalization and Review and on the board of a local nonprofit; no independent government record was located to confirm the dates of that service [3]. He ran unsuccessfully for North Carolina State Auditor in 2024 as the Libertarian nominee, drawing more than 3% of the statewide vote, per his campaign website and Port City Daily [1][2]. Ballotpedia's summary of his 2024 race lists an endorsement from the North Carolina Forward Party [3]. He has served as chair of the North Carolina Libertarian Party, per Port City Daily [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Bob Drach campaign website \u2013 bobdrach.com](https://www.bobdrach.com/about-7)\n[2] [A look at who filed in the 2026 tri-county elections \u2013 Port City Daily](https://portcitydaily.com/local-news/2025/12/19/look-at-who-filed-in-2026-elections/)\n[3] [Bob Drach - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Bob_Drach) (used only as a last resort for self-described career/endorsement details -- chief-officer titles, Board of Equalization service, Forward Party endorsement -- not found on any primary or journalism source located; reflects his 2024 Candidate Connection survey, attributed in his own voice, not independently verified)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission","county":"new_hanover","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"New Hanover County Board Of Commissioners"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Robert","fullname":"Robert Davis Drach","lastname":"Drach","middlename":"Davis","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission","contest_title":"New Hanover County Board Of Commissioners","county":"new_hanover","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":"new_hanover","office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","party":"LIB","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"new_hanover","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission","contest_title":"New Hanover County Board Of Commissioners","county":"new_hanover","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":"new_hanover","office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","party":"LIB","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"LIB","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Bob Drach is a Libertarian candidate for the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina.","terms":[],"token":"a5ca31885a823953"}