The closest race in Orange County from March’s primary elections is headed to a recount.
During Friday’s canvassing count and meeting of the Board of Elections, the county election officials acknowledged incumbent Earl McKee’s call for a recount in the District 2 Democratic primary for the Orange County Board of Commissioners — as challenger Beth Bronson finished with 25 more votes out of more than 10,800 cast between the two. The margin tightened following Election Night, when Bronson held a 32-vote lead.
McKee, who is seeking his fifth consecutive four-year term on the board, told Chapelboro on Friday he made the decision to ask for a recount the week before when the provisional ballots were opened. The retired farmer and electrician, who has built a reputation during his time in office as a voice for the rural community, said it is an example of how he “always follows the process” when it comes to local elections. While he admitted to being “a bit shocked” on Election Night, McKee said the call for a recount is more out of due diligence than doubt over the outcome — and with the vote tally falling with one percentage point, he is allowed to do so.
“I’m going to be a little bit dismissive of the political rhetoric that always goes around after elections when someone calls for a recount…that they either can’t accept [the results], they are jealous, they are not facing reality…that does not apply here,” the District 2 incumbent said. “I will tell you point blank: I do not think anything nefarious happened, I think the votes fell were they would…and if they change, they change — and if they don’t, they don’t.”
Both McKee and Bronson ran relatively friendly campaigns during the winter, and both candidates pointed out their positive communication with each other. Bronson reached out to McKee’s campaign early in the primary to connect, while McKee called Bronson on Election Night to congratulate her on the preliminary results.
“She’s been nothing but cordial, she’s an intelligent young woman,” McKee said of Bronson on Friday. “If she prevails, which she quite likely will, I feel like she will be able to do the job and I hope she will be able to represent the people of District 2 as her primary focus.”
Bronson — a senior clinical research coordinator at Duke Hospitals — is a first-time candidate for elected office who was inspired to run after becoming a young homeowner in the Cheeks community. As she learned more and more about how county zoning and tax decisions affected her property, she began volunteering on the Planning Advisory Board and the Board of Adjustments. Bronson campaigned in the District 2 race as bringing a fresh perspective and new energy to the Board of County Commissioners, with the policy goals of ushering in controlled growth within Orange County while making local government processes more accessible to residents.
If the results stand, McKee said he looks forward to using the remaining months of his time on the Board of Orange County Commissioners to advance the priorities he built his 2026 campaign around: completing the county’s broadband expansion project and exploring new options to provide financial relief to long-time, low-income homeowners burdened by rapidly increasing property values. McKee’s vision for the latter is finding out a way to “freeze taxes” for homeowners older than 70 years old and making below 30% AMI.
“That would be a life-saving measure for our very low-income people who actually own a home at this time,” said McKee. “I don’t think it would impact the budget very much, because there will not be that many people originally being able to qualify…but for those [who do], it might be a life-saving event. And then over the years, that might could be expanded by lowering the age or increasing the AMI limitation. But, those are the two things I’m going to try and push before that first meeting in December when I walk away from that board.”
According to the Orange County Board of Elections, the recount of the District 2 ballots will take place at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Mar. 18 in a public session at the Board of Elections office in Hillsborough. A vote to ratify the counts is scheduled for Friday, Mar. 20.
Once the results of the Democratic primary are finalized, the winning candidate will prepare to face Republican Louis D. Capitanio on the ballot in November. The general election winner — along with the District 1 and At-Large seat winners — will take their oath of office at the end of 2026 to join District 1 Commissioners Jean Hamilton and Marilyn Carter, District 2 Commissioner Phyllis Portie-Ascott and At-Large Commissioner Amy Fowler.
Additional races and outcomes from the 2026 primary elections can be found on Chapelboro’s results page.
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Recount Set for District 2 Commissioner Race in Orange County; 25 Votes Separate Bronson and McKee Chapelboro.com.
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