Asheville, Buncombe will recount 2 primaries: rare tie in NC House race; DA race tightens

ASHEVILLE - A local Republican primary for state House is now locked in a rare tie, while a highly consequential Democratic district attorney race has tightened, leading to upcoming recounts for both contests.

That is according to certified May 27 numbers that now show Republican candidates Pratik Bhakta and Sherry Higgins with the exact same vote tally —3,145 — for House District 115 in southwestern Asheville and Buncombe County.

The official results of the county's 80 precincts also showed a margin that shrank between challenger Courtney Booth and District Attorney Todd Williams who was leading by an estimated 155 votes on May 17 primary day but now is ahead of Booth by 101.

District Attorney race recount

Both DA candidates have campaigned as progressives though Booth, an assistant public defender, has looked to stake out positions to the political left of Williams. With no Republican county prosecutor candidate in the general election, the Democratic primary will produce the ultimate winner.

Williams had 10,859 votes or 34.7% of the total, to Booth's 10,758, or 34.4%, according to the May 27 final results.

Fellow Democrat Doug Edwards took third with 9,274 or 29.6%. A fourth Democrat, Joe Bowman, pulled out the race, saying he was backing Booth, though he still got 395 or 1.3% of the vote.

After certification Booth, told the Citizen Times she would request a recount, a right state law gives to second-place candidates whose votes are within 1% of the winner's. The law makes the recount automatic in the case of a tie, such as with District 115.

The public recounts will begin 9 a.m. June 1 at the Buncombe County Election Services warehouse, 50 Coxe Ave. in downtown Asheville.

Booth, who has been a Buncombe County public defender for 17 years, told the Citizen Times she appreciated voters support and looked forward to the recount. The close election showed residents are "ready for true reform of a broken criminal justice system," she said.

"Regardless of the outcome, I stood up to truly change this system," she said. "Our community must keep striving for a criminal justice system reflective of our values. I am hopeful knowing that we will keep fighting for reform."

In comments to the Citizen Times, Williams made a point of backing the count and Booth's right to check it.

"I appreciate the work of our local Board of Elections to complete the process of certifying official results from the primary," he said, adding, "the decision to request a recount is in the discretion of the candidate."

Williams was elected district attorney in 2014 in his first attempt at elected office and reelected in 2018. Before becoming the top prosecutor, Williams was a public defender and a capital defender, representing defendants against murder charges.

At an April 1 candidate forum, the two debated whether Williams had the right priorities in prosecuting.

"The criminal justice system weighs too heavily on communities of color and working class people," said Booth. "We have to make changes."

She alleged that, though Williams ran on "a platform of reform" when he was first elected, the jail was still crowded, three-strikes law felony convictions were still "weaponized" by the DA's office, juveniles were still being tried as adults.

Williams countered, pointing to his seven year history in the role.

Related: Hung jury in deputy's Asheville assault trial; unclear if new trial will happen

"Unlike my opponents I have a record, and it's an open book," he said, adding his record can been seen on his website or Twitter account. "The justice system is in a constant state of flux and evolution and we're going to continue to push forward, because we understand more about changing behavior. Our goal remains to prosecute violent crime and ensure sustainability of long-lasting reform that our community can trust."

NC House race

Bhakta, a South Asheville hotelier, thanked supporters, volunteers and voters, saying his campaign worked hard to "culminate in this very unusual situation."

"We will continue to promote our message of 'seva,'" he said, a Hindu concept of selfless service performed without expectation of reward, "and respectfully ask the voters to reconsider and vote for Pratik in the event of a potential runoff."

A second primary could happen if the recount also ends in a tie.

Higgins, a certified public account from Arden, said she was "shocked by the tie, because you just don't hear about that happening," but said he was pleased that she made up ground in a primary that in early stages had Bhakta leading 53% to 47%.

"Going into this, I knew being from this area, just from working and living and all the volunteer work that I had a lot of contacts. I had a good base."

She said congratulations were "in order for both of the candidates."

The two share many of the same positions including openness to the idea of expanding Medicaid and supporting a state law to reduce the amount of county hotel taxes spent on marketing. Bhakta has said he would like to see "fundamentals" emphasized more in public education, including math, science, arts and finance.

The winner will face Democrat Lindsey Prather in the general election. While recently redrawn, the district covers an area formerly held by Democratic Rep. Brian Turner, whose record as a business-friendly left-of-center moderate, helped him win an area more conservative than the whole of the heavily blue county.

Board of Elections Chair Jake Quinn said in 60 years as of personal interest in elections and his recent work on the board he had never seen a tie. He noted there were 1,227 people who voted that did not select a candidate for district attorney, known as an undervote.

"For me the big takeaway on this is encouraging our friends and neighbors that to vote the entire ballot and not undervote is a good way to go," he said.

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, Buncombe primary recounts: rare House tie; DA race tightens