An interesting anomaly played out in the mountains in the Presidential primary last week.

Haywood County commissioner candidates were asked whether they think the county should spend $3.5 million on a new animal shelter.

Rhonda Schandevel and Reese Steen

Two Democrats squaring off in the primary for the state House seat spanning Haywood, Madison and Yancey counties claim they’re the one who can oust N.C. Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, and restore progress in North Carolina.

The March ballot might feel a bit like déjà vu for Republican voters in N.C. House District 119, as Aaron Littlefield and Mike Clampitt once again face off for the chance to run against incumbent Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, in November.

Rep. Roger West’s, R-Marble, announcement that he wouldn’t be running for re-election left a void in N.C. House District 120, and two Republicans are vying to fill it. 

On the right track or wrong track? That question was posed to candidates running for Haywood County commissioner and could offer insight for voters on which ones most closely align with their own views.

Even though all five of the candidates running for two open seats in the Macon County commissioner primary are Republicans, they all have a fairly different stance on the county’s role when it comes to spending and setting policies.

Maybe North Carolina will be a shining star of a state working to resolve petty partisanship, and maybe it won’t. 

A three-judge federal panel ruled last week that two of the state’s congressional districts were gerrymandered, that they were unconstitutional because they were redrawn by the GOP-led legislature based on racial proportions. That, obviously, is illegal. The panel ruled that these particular districts — the 1st and 2nd — have to be redrawn, meaning other districts will also have to be change.

New voter identification laws are in effect for the 2016 elections, meaning voters should be prepared to show a valid form of photo identification at the polls during the March 15 primary election.