After months of delay due to court entanglements, the candidate filing period for 2022 elections ended noon Friday. 

The statewide primary is planned for May 17. Voters must register by April 22 or participate in one-stop early voting, which begins April 28.

Filing resumed Feb. 24 after being abruptly halted, resumed, then paused again over a three-day period in December. The disruptions were onset by lawsuits filed against the state’s Republican leaders by multiple groups arguing legislators drew maps that gave the GOP an unconstitutional advantage. The N.C. Supreme Court agreed, and legislators last month tweaked state and congressional maps before sending them back to court for review.

On Feb. 23, a trial court OK’d the state Senate and House maps but rejected the legislature’s congressional map, and instead imposed one of its own drawn by an outside panel. Later that night, the N.C. Supreme Court rejected appeals filed by both parties opposing the decisions. Hours later, filing resumed the next morning. The day after, Feb. 25, Republicans filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking to nullify the lower courts’ rulings. 

“The United States Constitution is clear – state legislatures, not state judges, are responsible for setting the rules governing elections,” House Speaker Tim Moore said in a statement announcing the appeal. “By striking the General Assembly’s congressional map and redrawing their own, with the help of Democrat partisans, the courts have, once again, violated the separation of powers. This effort to circumvent the elected representatives of the people will not stand.”

Despite the appeal, filing continued throughout the week as the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to weigh in. 

As of 3 p.m. Friday, the N.C. State Board of Elections’ was still performing quality checks on the latest version of its entire filing roster, according to spokesperson Patrick Gannon. 

The candidates listed below were included on the latest available version of that list, which remains unofficial until the state confirms its finality:  

U.S. House District 7: Drawn by the court, this new district includes several county changes. It’s currently served by Republican U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, who resides in Wilmington. Under the new changes, the district will lose part of Harnett and all of Sampson and Johnston counties, while gaining part of Cumberland and all of Robeson County.

This race is the most crowded state or federal contest. Only one other Republican, ​​Max Southworth-Beckwith of Currie, filed to run for the seat. He describes himself as “a Constitutional Libertarian running on the Republican ticket,” according to his website. 

Two Wilmington-based Democrats – Steve Miller and Yushonda Midgette – also filed last week. Charles Evans of Fayetteville and Charles Graham of Lumberton are the other Democratic challengers. 

N.C. Senate District 8: Republican Sen. Bill Rabon’s current district has shifted. Currently covering Brunswick, Pender and Bladen counties, the redrawn District 8 drops Pender and Bladen counties but adds Columbus. ​

As of the latest filing rolls maintained by the N.C. State Board of Elections, Rabon will run unopposed. 

N.C. Senate District 7: District 7 is the new District 9, currently served by Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover). It covers much of the same territory of New Hanover County, but now assigned a different name. 

In the current Senate District 9, Lee has the entire county except for an area of Castle Hayne north of I-140. In the new District 7, this northern area – which encompasses one Republican-leaning precinct – is now incorporated. 

A small geographic area of downtown Wilmington is excluded from the new Senate District 7, which carves out four precincts that lean heavily Democratic (in the 2020 election, though he won the race, Lee lost in these precincts by a 40-point margin). These districts are now assigned to Senate District 8, Rabon’s seat.

The new Senate District 7 has no incumbent. Sen. Lee (a de facto incumbent of sorts) filed to run in this new district in December. Lee told the Greater Wilmington Business Journal last week he was glad the election process could move ahead.  

Thursday, Democratic challenger Jason Minnicozzi filed to run in this district. Minnicozzi had previously campaigned on the premise he would run for U.S. House District 7, vying for Rouzer’s seat. A former prosecutor under Jon David and current public defender, Minnicozzi said in a statement that he promised to put New Hanover County first. 

“For far too long, New Hanover has suffered because politicians care more about partisan politics than effective policy,” he said in the statement, shared by the N.C. Democratic Party. 

In the same announcement, the party announced Adam Ericson, who had campaigned as a candidate, was stepping down to help care for his elderly parents. 

N.C. Senate District 9: The redrawn district has no incumbent. It now includes Pender, Bladen, Duplin, Sampson and Jones counties. Just one Republican candidate, Brent Jackson of Autryville, filed to run in this district in December. He appears to be running unopposed and currently serves as a senator in District 10.

N.C. House District 18: Currently served by Democratic Rep. Deb Butler, this district lost a few precincts around Kings Grant and gained a few downtown and in the coastal Ogden area, including Landfall Country Club. 

One Republican, former Wilmington Downtown Inc. CEO John Hinnant, filed as a challenger in this district last week. 

Neither have a primary opponent.

N.C. House District 20: Republican Rep. Ted Davis’ district lost Landfall and Figure 8 and picked up a handful of small districts midtown. 

A Democratic challenger, Amy Block DeLoach, filed for office Wednesday. DeLoach has deep community ties, including a mother and grandmother (for which the Hannah Block Historic USO Building downtown is named) who each received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. She volunteers on various nonprofit boards. 

N.C. House District 19: Served by Republican Rep. Charlie Miller, House District 19 lost a small area of downtown Wilmington and gained two precincts in Brunswick County, Boiling Spring Lakes and Bolivia. As of Friday afternoon, Miller appears to be running unopposed.