Are GOP leaders losing touch with Cabarrus voters? Some Republicans think so
Republicans keep winning elections in Cabarrus County, but recent winners are wondering aloud whether party leadership is out of tune with what voters want.
Results from last year’s municipal races to this month’s Republican primary show a growing disconnect between GOP leadership and the voters who continue to keep Republicans in power, Concord Mayor Steve Morris said. In several key contests, the candidates who prevailed were not those backed by the party’s most prominent figures, and in some cases had been shunned or not supported by party leadership — or had openly criticized the party themselves.
That divide was on full display in one of the county’s most closely watched races.
Former state Rep. Kevin Crutchfield defeated incumbent Sen. Chris Measmer in the March Republican primary, despite what Crutchfield and others described as clear support from local party leadership for Measmer.
“I went to a GOP meeting recently and had to get up in front of everyone and thank my team for voting. But I also know that those in the room who are on the Republican committee didn’t vote for me,” he said. “They threw knives.”
Crutchfield defeated Measmer by roughly 1,000 votes in a race that followed a year of political tension tied to the dispute over filling his vacant commission seat after his appointment to the state Senate.
County commissioners initially attempted to appoint a candidate suggested for the vacant seat by the Cabarrus GOP, but a judge blocked the move and ruled the process unlawful. The county later lost a lawsuit tied to the appointment and ordered to pay $13,000 in legal fees. The decision fell to Cabarrus County Clerk of Court Bill Baggs, who selected a different, more moderate candidate than the one favored by party leadership.
Crutchfield said his campaign centered on giving voters a choice in their representation rather than accepting a senator appointed by a small group of people.
His win also came despite criticism from some Republican leaders. In a Facebook comment on the county GOP chair’s page, Commissioner Larry Pittman called Crutchfield and a PAC running ads supporting him “utterly reprehensible.” Other top Republicans, including Commission Chair Laura Blackwell Lindsey, publicly backed different candidates than won the election including Measmer.
That divide between GOP leaders and voters also showed up in county commission races, where two candidates not endorsed by Lindsey won their races. Republicans winners were James Bailey, who said he wanted to run to cut through partisan conflict, and Kristel Swayze, who was endorsed by Morris. Incumbent Commissioner Ian Patrick, who was appointed to the commission by the GOP, also won his reelection race.
Though the party can’t officially endorse candidates in a primary, Crutchfield and others said the preference of GOP leaders is clear.
“They try to dance around saying they’re not endorsing, but they have members of their leadership committee standing at the polls handing out a particular candidate’s literature,” Crutchfield said. “That’s an endorsement.”
He said that approach created frustration among voters and candidates alike, particularly in a county where unaffiliated voters now make up a significant share of the electorate.
“While I’m unapologetically conservative, I also understand that my personal opinions don’t represent everybody in the county, and my job is to represent them,” Crutchfield said. “I will do what’s right for the people, even if it’s not what the people of the party want me to do.”
The same tensions played out in the race for clerk of court, with Baggs’ reelection offering another example of voters backing a Republican candidate at odds with party leadership.
Baggs won his Republican primary race, defeating opponent Resa Travis by roughly 1,200 votes while accusing the county GOP of trying to push him out of office. Baggs previously told the Observer a complaint seeking his removal from office was politically motivated and tied to his decision not to appoint the GOP’s preferred candidate to the commission vacancy.
Text messages obtained by the Observer showed the now-GOP secretary Barbara Strang urging Baggs to make that appointment and offering assurances that he would not face a primary challenger if he complied. Instead, Baggs said he decided to appoint Commissioner Jeff Jones because he was more moderate politically. Strang later became treasurer for a candidate campaigning against him.
What are Cabarrus Republican voters thinking?
For Morris, a longtime Republican who has also clashed with the Cabarrus GOP, the results reflect a broader shift in how voters approach local elections.
“The candidates that the party has taken a rather strong position in supporting have been unsuccessful in recent elections,” Morris said. “The message that I get from that is that most of our voters here in Cabarrus County are interested in good government more than party affiliation.”
Morris, who served as chair of the Cabarrus County commission for more than a decade, was censured by the local Republican Party last year after endorsing Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and donating to a local Democrat’s campaign. In November, he won election as mayor of Concord — the county’s largest city — in a race where the GOP-backed candidate finished third.
He said the county’s political landscape has changed significantly in recent years, driven in part by an increase in unaffiliated voters, which make up the county’s largest voting bloc.
“We’ve seen a great shift in the number of unaffiliated voters. People are a little bit more independent thinking… and make their decisions based on the merits rather than strictly party affiliation,” Morris said. “I don’t feel like the party has really tried to embrace those new people in the community and bring them into the fold. It’s been quite the opposite.”
He also pointed to frustration with how primaries have been handled, including efforts by party leaders to influence outcomes.
“When the Republican Party tries to manipulate results and influence primaries, they’re losing some of the credibility that they may have had with mainstream voters,” Morris said.
The wins by more moderate Republicans, or those less closely aligned with local party leadership, may reflect a county becoming more politically competitive. Political experts told the Observer in January that Cabarrus, long reliably Republican, is getting “pinker” as rapid population growth reshapes its electorate.
Looking ahead to November
Still, not all Republicans view the current moment as a sign of lasting fracture.
While Morris acknowledged that divisions within the party are real, he said they are not necessarily permanent. He said he hopes people in the county realize the conflicts within the party and become more engaged and even try to run for office.
State Rep. Jonathan Almond, who represents part of Cabarrus County in District 73, said earlier this year that internal conflicts during primaries can weaken the party heading into general elections.
“I think that we’re very good at pointing the guns at each other metaphorically, and giving Democrats a lot of ammunition to use against us,” Almond said in a January interview with the Observer.
But Almond struck a more optimistic tone following the primary, emphasizing the need for unity moving forward. Almond had no opponent in the March primary, but will face Democrat Thomas Monks in November. Almond said that while some candidates may feel they lacked party support, the focus now should shift to the general election.
“I’m going to be working on making sure that we have a united front moving towards November… It feels like we’re standing on the precipice of changes that could be positive for the next 100 years, but we can’t give up,” he said.
Almond also suggested that, while the party may appear divided, he believes in its ability to come together when it matters by having conversations, working through disagreements, and listening to each other. He said he is willing to be an “olive branch” in order to make sure everyone is focused on the same goal.
From Almond’s perspective, the current priority for Republicans in Cabarrus is clear: “winning in November and moving forward.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
