Election season is back on. Here's who is — and who isn't — running in the 2022 races so far.

The stop-and-go 2022 election season starts back this week with the candidate filing period resuming.

North Carolina's Supreme Court pushed the pause button in December 2021 on candidate filing, but that first step for politicians to let their intentions formally be known begins again 8:30 a.m. Thursday and ends at noon March 4.

Primary elections will now take place May 17 in North Carolina. Election Day will take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which falls on Nov. 8 this year.

Here's a look at some of the races up for election:

14th U.S. House

This will be a new congressional district with a rarity since no sitting member of Congress now lives within the district. N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, had ruled out a run for Congress, but has since left the door open based upon the approval of new district.

The new district would include all of Gaston and Cleveland counties, and parts of Rutherford County to the west and Mecklenburg County to the east. The district has a slight Republican leaning, but would be considered competitive for Democrats based on past voting trends.

Sheriff

Former Democrat Sheriff Alan Cloninger surprised many in August 2021 when he announced that he would not run in 2022 and he was changing his party affiliation to unaffiliated.

Republican Chad Hawkins, current chief of Belmont Police, had already announced he would run, but Cloninger's departure from the race lured Republican Don Roper, current chief of Mount Holly Police into the race.

Both Hawkins and Roper have been campaigning for the Republican nomination since 2021.

General Assembly

Sen. Kathy Harrington also surprised several when she announced in December she would not be seeking a seventh term to the 43rd Senate District seat based in Gaston County. Harrington's colleagues had selected her Senate majority leader in 2020, the second-highest rank in leadership.

Harrington endorsed attorney Brad Overcash for her former seat. He will face a Republican primary challenge by Dallas Township County Commissioner Tracy Philbeck, who had announced via Twitter in October he would not be running again for county commissioner.

Other Republican incumbents — Rep. Kelly Hastings from the 110th House, Rep. Donnie Loftis from the 109th House, and Rep. John Torbett from the 108th House, have said they will seek re-election.

Members of the Gaston County Republican Party Executive Committee selected Loftis to fill out the remainder of Rep. Dana Bumgardner's term after his death in October.

Loftis will face a Republican challenge from Bumgardner's daughter, Lauren Bumgardner Current, and South Point Township County Commissioner Ronnie Worley.

Gaston County commissioners

Longtime Republican Commissioners Tom Keigher, representing the Gastonia Township, and Chad Brown, representing the Riverbend Township, both plan to run for re-election.

Several have announced they will seek Philbeck's vacant seat representing the Dallas Township.

Judicial elections

Gov. Roy Cooper picked Jesse Caldwell IV to replace his father, Jesse Caldwell, on the bench after the elder Caldwell reached age 72, the mandatory retirement age for Superior Court judges.

At least three Republicans will be vying for the party nomination to replace Caldwell on the bench. This includes attorney Eddie Meeks, school board member Justin Davis, and assistant prosecutor Beth Stockwell.

On the District Court side, Judge Michael Lands has announced he will not seek another term. So far, only attorney Gus Anthony has announced himself as a candidate for that seat.

Judge Craig Collins' seat is also up for election. He will face a Republican primary opponent in Ashley Hyman.

District Attorney

Cooper, a Democrat, also appointed Republican Gaston County District Attorney Travis Page to his office after the retirement of Republican Locke Bell.

Page will be running for a full, four-year term.

Clerk of Court

Roxann Rankin has worked in the Gaston County Clerk of Court's office since 1984, but took the top job after the retirement of Larry Brown.

She'll face a Republican primary challenge from Gaston County Commission Alan Fraley of Cherryville.

School board

Five seats are up for election. The at-large seat held by Dot Cherry, Dallas Township seat held by Steve Hall, Gastonia Township seat held by Lee Dedmond, Riverbend Township seat held by Kevin Collier, and the South Point seat held by Davis.

Davis will be seeking a Superior Court judge seat and Hall will run as a Republican for the Dallas Township seat on the Gaston County Board of Commissioners. If unsuccessful in their primary elections, either could still run for school board since candidate filing for that office takes place after the primary election.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Corrections have been made to this story about the congressional district and whether school board members could still seek election to their current seats if unsuccessful in the primary.

You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or email him at kellis@gastongazette.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Here is the list of candidates in the 2022 North Carolina elections