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The majority of Gates County voters leaned towards the red on Election Day as two Republicans will join the county’s Board of Commissioners.

According to the unofficial results of Tuesday’s General Election, Nathan Berryman defeated three-term incumbent Linda Hofler in a race to represent the Hobbsville District on the board while Dave Forsythe surpassed current board chair Althea Riddick for the Sunbury District seat.

Hofler and Riddick are both registered as Democrats.

Berryman received 3,261 votes compared to 2,395 for Hofler. Berryman held a 1,929-to-1,667 edge in early voting and then carried four of the county’s six voting precincts on Election Day, adding to his winning total. He won by wide margins in the Eure (524-189), Corapeake (698-351), and Hobbsville (504-285) precincts.

Forsythe received just over 60 percent of the vote, named on 3,438 ballots compared to 2,225 for Riddick. He won the early voting (2,013-to-1,581) and then more than doubled Riddick’s total on Election Day (1,377-to-574).

Like Berryman, Forsythe was the top vote-getter on Election Day in four of the six precincts, and matched his fellow Republican with big wins in Eure (563-147), Corapeake (717-334), and Hobbsville (533-254).

There were only two other local candidates on this year’s ballot, and both ran unopposed.

For Gates County Register of Deeds, Mary Cathy Horton was reelected, earning 4,336 votes.

E. Boykin Hudgins Jr. received 4,014 votes in his successful bid for Gates County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.

Gates County voters also approved an Amendment to the North Carolina Constitution, which provides that only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and otherwise possessing the qualifications for voting shall be entitled to vote at any election in this state. Local voters supported that measure by a wide margin (4,882-to-471).

Voter turnout in Gates County for the 2024 General Election for this election cycle was 69.16% (5,858 ballots were cast out of 8,470 registered voters).

The results from the General Election are unofficial until the Gates County Board of Elections conducts its required canvass on Nov. 15.