In Charlotte’s tightest council race, vanishing Republican presence comes into focus
A City Council seat hasn’t flipped political parties in 14 years. But do politics really matter in local government — where many decisions relate to zoning and infrastructure?
In south Charlotte’s tight District 6 race, it depends which candidate you ask.
Republican Krista Bokhari is campaigning to keep what she calls balance at the dais: Nine of 11 city council seats are occupied by Democrats. If District 6 flips, Ed Driggs — whose District 7 also covers parts of south Charlotte — would become the sole Republican holdout in a city that’s shifted increasingly to the left. Her husband, Tariq Bokhari, resigned from the District 6 seat earlier this year to take a position in the Trump administration, which he has since left.
“We are falling towards one-party rule, and that’s very dangerous for any city,” Krista Bokhari said. “It just doesn’t represent our city.”
Outside of City Council, every Mecklenburg County commissioner is a Democrat. So are the district attorney, sheriff and all but two of the county’s 19 state legislators.
Bokhari’s opponent, Democrat Kimberly Owens, said political affiliation shouldn’t be the primary factor in evaluating the strengths or weaknesses of a local official. Balance on council is about lived experience and skills, not partisanship, Owens said.
Whether voters agree could be a determining factor in the Nov. 4 election.
Can Democrats flip District 6?
It’s been 25 years since Republicans last held a slim majority on council. A little under 17% of Charlotte’s population is registered Republican today compared to Democrats’ 42%, according to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.
A few races could change that this year. District 3, two at-large seats and the mayor’s office have Republican candidates in the running, but no race is as closely contested as District 6.
District 6 has an even split. Data from the Board of Elections show each party accounts for 28% of registered voters while about 43% are unaffiliated, meaning the largest portion of the electorate are free agents on the political field. Data shows unaffiliated voters aren’t all true independents, though.
The margin separating Republicans and Democrats in the district has consistently shrunk over the last decade, with the final vote tally dwindling from a 30% gap in 2017 to just 1.36% in 2023.
Owens could turn District 6 blue if that trend continues. She isn’t thinking about her campaign in terms of political parties, though.
Fissures exist among city leaders despite their ideological beliefs. Owens says she has more in common with Driggs on many issues than with some in her own party.
“I reject the idea that partisanship on city council is a good thing. I think skill sets and people who will put the needs of others before their own, and who have the requisite skills to actually do things and not just create noise and stunts, I think that’s much more important,” Owens said. “There’s not gonna be like a big blue banner celebration for me if I flip this seat. It’s just not important.”
Owens highlighted her career as an attorney, which brought applicable experience working on large transactions, weighing litigation decisions and reading contracts. She currently provides contract services for an education technology company.
Despite the downward trend for Republicans, Bokhari says the recent spotlight on public safety is “waking up” voters to a need for change. Democrats haven’t earned more control over the city, she said
That’s the focus of her pitch to independent and undecided voters: She thinks Democrats’ track record shows they are slow to act and haven’t moved the needle forward on important issues.
“They’re failing us,” Bokhari said. “So Republicans, we have something to prove, and we want to prove it. We want to get to work.”
Who are Krista Bokhari and Kimberly Owens?
Bokhari and Owens are both mothers of three who moved to the city in early adulthood. They launched their campaigns for similar reasons — they want better lives for their children and other families — but the two offer competing visions on the city’s central issue.
Charlotte is “going down the wrong path” due to Democrats’ lackadaisical approach to public safety, according to Bokhari. The issue boiled over last month after the high-profile killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail prompted state leaders to investigate the city’s transit security and spending.
That’s where politics comes into the picture.
Bokhari wants to prioritize public safety by advocating for police.
Her existing relationships with key Republican lawmakers in Raleigh could help ease tensions between the city and the General Assembly, she said. The two entities have a history of clashing over differences.
Owens meanwhile focused on national trends in wage disparity and affordability.
When Owens moved here in 1994, she lived comfortably despite paying for her own apartment, her car, health insurance and $175,000 in student loans. The city was full of possibility, and that’s changed for her children as prices have climbed.
Everybody’s kids should have options and be able to live near their workplace, she said. She wants 10-minute cities and liveable communities.
“If I can make your life a little bit better, if I can make your commute a little bit less, if I can make you a little more confident that your home value is going to be preserved, if I can make you a little bit happier because we brought new jobs to Charlotte … That’s what I want to do,” Owens said.
District 6 candidates say they’ll steer away from controversy, noise
Residents might consider Bokhari an extension of her husband’s tenure, which ran from 2017 until earlier this year, but she said their leadership styles couldn’t be more different.
Tariq Bokhari was known for his outspoken approach that landed the city in hot water earlier this year. Text messages he sent to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings reportedly led to a $305,000 separation agreement with the chief to avoid a lawsuit over Bokhari’s comments.
Krista Bokhari addressed the controversy in a long Facebook post in May accusing the city of unethical behavior in its handling of the situation.
She and Owens said they will take a gentler approach to the job.
Tariq Bokhari is “a fireball” who “felt like he had to be loud” to bring attention to issues he cared about, his wife said. That’s not who she will be.
His message sometimes got lost in a delivery that made people bristle, she said.
“I’m not interested in giving barn burner speeches,” Krista Bokhari aid. “I am not interested in the theater of the council meetings. I am just interested in getting to work.”
Owens has heard the City Council compared to a clown car and reality TV, two perceptions she intends to change.
“I’m not a clown,” Owens said. “It is not reality TV; it is reality. It is people’s tax money. It is their trust and confidence in local government.”
Her risk management skills alone are needed on council, she said.
“I feel eminently ready in this moment in time to be thoughtful and judicious and to have the appropriate impulse control, to know how and when to speak publicly,” Owens said. “After 30 years of disciplined law practice without a single ethical violation or question of my judgment, I’m not going to send a text to another city leader that costs the city $300,000.”
Other Charlotte City Council races to watch
Most City Council races won’t be competitive in November.
Malcolm Graham of District 2 and Driggs of District 7 didn’t face any opposition on their paths to reelection this year. Dante Anderson of District 1, Renee Perkins Johnson of District 4 and newcomer J.D. Mazuera of District 5 all won their respective Democratic primaries in September and will not face another challenger from opposition parties. Write-in candidates typically have not garnered enough votes to upset major party candidates.
West Charlotte’s District 3 is the only other district with several candidates in the mix. Joi Mayo defeated incumbent Tiawana Brown in the Democratic primary and will next face Republican James Bowers and unaffiliated candidate Robin Emmons. They’re hoping to flip the longtime blue district, but they’ll face an uphill battle. Democrats captured more than three-quarters of the vote in the last election.
Republicans are the underdogs in citywide elections, too.
Edwin Peacock and Misun Kim are taking on the four Democratic incumbents in the at-large council race: Dimple Ajmera, LaWana Mayfield, James “Smuggie” Mitchell and Victoria Watlington.
Peacock has some name recognition that could boost his campaign above other recent Republican challengers. He was elected twice before, in 2007 and 2009. He returned to council earlier this year in an appointed position to finish out Tariq Bokhari’s term representing District 6.
Peacock’s 2009 win was the last time a Republican served Charlotte at-large. He lost the next election by 5,000 votes when his seat flipped permanently blue.
Democratic Mayor Vi Lyles is seeking a fifth term against Republican Terrie Donovan and Libertarian Rob Yates.
Lyles hasn’t seen a tight race since her first primary in 2017. Recent controversies regarding transparency and public safety could complicate this election, but it remains to be seen whether that will be enough to flip the city’s top leadership position from the majority party.
She won her current term with just under three quarters of the vote.
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
