An unaffiliated candidate won her election in North Carolina’s 51st House District earlier this month, narrowly defeating the Republican nominee by several hundred votes and becoming the first independent legislative candidate to win a race in the state in over a decade.
Unofficial election results from the North Carolina State Board of Elections show that April Montgomery earned 13,974 votes, or 50.8 percent of the total, in her bid for the state’s 51st House District, edging out Republican Charles Taylor with 13,554 votes. The race was a two-way election with no other candidates appearing on the ballot after Democratic nominee Tasherra McDuffie dropped out in March.
State records show that Montgomery is the first unaffiliated candidate, the designation North Carolina uses for independents, elected to the General Assembly since Bert Jones won the state’s 65th House District during the 2010 general election. That doesn’t account for several lawmakers originally elected as Democrats since then who later changed their affiliations to unaffiliated while in office.
Montgomery is also the first unaffiliated candidate elected to represent the 51st District since it was established in 1982, though the original boundaries have changed considerably. While it didn’t impact her appearance on the ballot, she also ran with the endorsement of the North Carolina Forward Party.
According to her campaign website, Montgomery focused on managing growth in the district while preserving the character of its communities, which include all of Lee County and parts of Moore County. Her priorities included greater investment in aging infrastructure, support for small businesses and job creation, increased public education funding, and an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy incorporating both fossil fuels and renewable energy sources.
Since Election Day, Montgomery has said she does not intend to caucus with either major party, instead planning to vote based on individual issues and the interests of her district. However, with Democrats projected to control 71 seats in the state House, one seat short of a three-fifths supermajority, her position could still give her considerable influence on matters requiring that threshold in the next legislative session.
Editorial note: Thanks to Ballot Access News for making Independent Political Report aware of Montgomery’s Election Day win.
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