{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBarry Gordon Richards is a Republican candidate for Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina, running in the 2026 primary. He is one of eight Republicans competing for three commissioner seats.\n\nRichards' campaign priorities include reducing taxes, lowering regulatory burdens on commerce, supporting single-family housing development, and addressing infrastructure needs. He advocates for line-item budget analysis across county departments with the goal of lowering tax rates.\n\n## Background and education\nRichards attended Mount Pleasant High School and has lived his entire life in Cabarrus County, where his family has owned land since 1735. He describes himself as a born-again orthodox Christian.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Get to know County Commission Republican Candidate Barry Richards \u2013 Cabarrus Compass](https://cabarruscompass.com/p/get-to-know-county-commission-republican-54e)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission","county":"cabarrus","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Cabarrus County Board Of Commissioners"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Barry","fullname":"Barry Gordon Richards","lastname":"Richards","middlename":"Gordon","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission","contest_title":"Cabarrus County Board Of Commissioners","county":"cabarrus","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"cabarrus","office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"cabarrus","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission","contest_title":"Cabarrus County Board Of Commissioners","county":"cabarrus","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"cabarrus","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":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"c18816103e76bc0c"}