‘I became a public enemy number one.’ Bokhari wins District 6 by fewer than 400 votes
In the closest race Tuesday night, Republican south Charlotte Councilman Tariq Bokhari edged out a reelection victory by fewer than 400 votes.
Bokhari faced Democrat Stephanie Hand, a clergy member and first time candidate in a district that’s historically been a Republican stronghold. First elected in 2017, Bokhari received 50.94% of the votes to Hand’s 48.99% with all 38 precincts in the district reporting. The slim margin is large enough to avoid a recount under state law.
“I was expecting it to be tight,” Bokhari said Tuesday night, just before receiving a call from Hand. “I was facing probably the most legitimate candidate that the Democrats could have possibly thrown at me.”
Hand told The Charlotte Observer’s news partner WSOC-TV she thinks the close finish Tuesday is “a sign that District 6 is changing.”
“They’re looking for something different and new,” she said of the district’s residents.
Along with Hand as a strong opponent, Bokhari said his role as an opposition leader on City Council likely also brought the race down to the wire.
From positions on the pandemic to policing and zoning, Bokhari has been a loud alternative voice on Council on several key issues. That helps with some voters and it hurts with others, he said.
“I became a public enemy number one,” he said. “That weighed on me in a way that you see a difference between my 2019 results and right now. But that’s only a part of it – the other part is, indeed, the incredible opponent I had.”
Bokhari is one of two Republicans on the 11-member City Council.
Bokhari held a fundraising advantage of more than $20,000 over Hand, the Observer previously reported.
But the district, which had the highest early voting turnout in the city, had a near-even number of Republicans and Democrats cast ballots, according to an analysis by Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer. Hand started out with a lead when early votes were reported. The lead dwindled over the course of the night as more Election Day votes were counted.
In 2020, Democratic President Joe Biden won District 6 with 61% of the vote, Bitzer said.
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
