(The Center Square) – Joseph Gibson will challenge incumbent Rep. Reece Pyrtle in the Republican primary for the North Carolina House of Representatives District 65 seat.
Gibson’s candidacy was challenged and reviewed by the state Board of Elections. The state agreed Tuesday with the Rockingham County Board of Elections that he is eligible.
In North Carolina, felons are ineligible to vote or hold office until completing time in jail, and state supervision of probation has ended. Gibson had such a conviction in Connecticut, and he says those obligations were met – the last being probation – in 2008. He was already in North Carolina at time of completion and now lives in Reidsville.
The Democratic majority Rockingham board voted 3-2. The state board was unanimous.
Pyrtle, a Stoneville resident, won the House District 65 seat in 2022 over Democrat Jay Donecker 67.2%-32.8% after defeating Gibson 79.9%-20.1% in the GOP primary. This year, no Democrat filed for the seat.
The state board meets again Wednesday in emergency session, a release says. This meeting is linked to the Jan. 20 deadline to begin distribution of absentee ballots ahead of the March 5 primaries. A candidate challenge in Johnston County is also scheduled.
