{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMelissa Eve Mason is an incumbent Republican member of the New Hanover County Board of Education [1]. She sought re-election in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary but received the fewest votes among five Republican candidates, 18.21%, and did not advance to the November general election [2].\n\n## Background\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Mason is a registered Republican in New Hanover County, registered since 2015 (11 years) [3]. The voter file lists her year of birth as 1979; North Carolina's bulk voter export publishes only birth year, not a full date [3]. Her voting history shows participation in 12 elections since 2016, most recently the March 3, 2026 primary [4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [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[2] [2026 Primary Results: New Hanover County \u2013 Port City Daily](https://portcitydaily.com/latest-news/2026/03/03/2026-primary-results-new-hanover-county/)\n[3] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n[4] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board","county":"new_hanover","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"New Hanover County Board Of Education"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Melissa","fullname":"Melissa Eve Mason","lastname":"Mason","middlename":"Eve","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board","contest_title":"New Hanover County Board Of Education","county":"new_hanover","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"new_hanover","office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"new_hanover","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_school_board","contest_title":"New Hanover County Board Of Education","county":"new_hanover","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"new_hanover","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":"Per the NC voter file: REP voter in New Hanover County since 2015.","terms":[],"token":"e10d8e70e992b8e2"}