Ashe County voters split from statewide election trends in 2026 midterms
ASHE COUNTY — Three incumbent Republican Ashe County Commissioners retained their board seats against two democratic challengers during the 2026 midterm elections. Mike Eldreth received 7,502 votes; Todd McNeill followed with 7,477 votes, and Jerry Powers received 6,823 votes. Democratic candidates Les Colvard and Caroline Renfro received 4,318 and 4,073 votes, respectively. In the Ashe County Board of Education race, incumbent Dianne Eldreth received 7,981 votes. Shane E. Little and Janet Ward rounded out the top-three candidates with 7,184 and 7,160, respectively. Democrat Jamie McNeill received 4,519 votes. Ashe Sheriff Phil Howell, who ran unopposed after defeating Republican challengers in the primary election, received 8,737 votes. Democrat Chuck Hubbard leads long-time Republican incumbent Virginia Foxx in the U.S. House of Representatives District 5 race. Although Hubbard led Foxx districtwide, Foxx received approximately 61% of the vote in Ashe County. “To be clear, the counting process has not ended under state law. Military ballots may be outstanding. Provisional ballots must still be counted,” Foxx said in a prepared statement. There were more than 1,000 provisional ballots cast in this contest two years ago, and Republicans netted a total that would eclipse the current margin. This counting process is expected to stretch
