The 4 Charlotte City Council primaries worth watching in September election
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2025 Voter Guide: Charlotte City Council and mayor election
Charlotte voters will choose candidates for mayor and council in the September primary. In The Charlotte Observer’s voter guide for the election, read about Mayor Vi Lyles, the most competitive council races and questionnaires from all candidates on the ballot.
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Voters in most Charlotte City Council districts will have primary elections on their September ballot, but some are more compelling races than others.
There will be Democratic primaries for at-large council seats and districts 1, 3, 4 and 5, plus a Republican primary in District 6.
There are plenty of storylines in west Charlotte’s District 3, where incumbent Tiawana Brown faces multiple challengers while under indictment on federal fraud charges.
Some of the focus will also be on south Charlotte’s District 6, where former state House candidate Krista Bokhari faces newcomer Sary Chakra in her bid to fill the seat vacated by her husband, Tariq Bokhari, stepping down for a job in the Trump administration. The winner of that primary faces a Democrat in the city’s most competitive district in November.
Districts 4 and 5 are competitive too, with incumbents Renee Johnson and Marjorie Molina facing challengers with political experience.
All incumbents are also running for reelection under the cloud of controversy surrounding the city’s deal with outgoing Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings.
“We’re kind of facing an era of a bit of uncertainty,” UNC Charlotte political scientist Eric Heberlig said. “... That’s atypical for Charlotte, because usually things run smoothly and quietly and there’s not a whole lot of controversy. But it’s unclear how that’s going to play out in the elections. We have challengers in most races, but whether they will be able to increase their name recognition and raise enough money to be competitive is less clear.”
Primary Election Day is Sept. 9, and early voting runs from Aug. 21 to Sept. 6. General Election Day is Nov. 4.
Charlotte City Council District 3
District 3 boasts the most crowded — and perhaps most dramatic — 2025 primary.
Brown, who federal law enforcement alleges misspent COVID relief dollars on things including a lavish birthday party, is running against county activist Joi Mayo and former Council member Warren Turner.
Another challenger, Montravias King, suspended his campaign Tuesday and endorsed Brown. But he’ll still be on the primary ballot.
Brown defeated Turner, who was previously found to have made sexually inappropriate comments to a city employee, in a 2023 primary for the then-open District 3 seat. She then easily beat Republican James H. Bowers in the general election.
But her high-profile indictment could present electoral issues for Brown, who is still awaiting trial on the criminal charges.
“Typically for an incumbent to be in trouble, there has to be something that voters can tie personally to them, and in this case, that’s true with a personal scandal,” Heberlig said.
Mayo announced Tuesday she received the coveted endorsement of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte Mecklenburg, which holds sway with those involved enough with local politics to show up and vote in a municipal primary.
Every City Council candidate the group endorsed in 2023 won their race, and Mayor Vi Lyles got a boost from an early endorsement from the group when she upset incumbent Jennifer Roberts in the 2017 Democratic mayoral primary.
“In Charlotte, if there’s any endorsement that people should want, it’s that one,” Heberlig said.
Brown could benefit from the sizable field in her district if her challengers split the vote among those looking to oust her from office. She could emerge victorious without winning a majority of voters.
Whoever wins the District 3 primary will face Bowers in November. Unaffiliated candidate Robin Emmons is also aiming to get enough signatures to make the general election ballot.
Charlotte City Council District 6
District 6 is the only open seat on the City Council this election cycle, and the GOP primary there will set the stage for the most compelling general election race come November.
The presumed frontrunner for the Republican nomination is Krista Bokhari, who lost her first bid for public office last year in a run for a south Charlotte state House seat but got attention for outperforming others on the GOP slate.
Krista Bokhari sought to be appointed to fill her husband’s former council seat, and she was backed by the Mecklenburg County Republican Party and multiple elected GOP leaders. But Lyles broke a tie to appoint Edwin Peacock III instead, a decision Krista Bokhari attributed to her outspoken criticism of the Jennings settlement.
Now she’s running against a political newcomer in Chakra, who also applied for the District 6 appointment.
Heberlig predicts Krista Bokhari will benefit greatly from name recognition.
“She gets the benefit of people being used to voting for a Bokhari in that section of Charlotte,” he said.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Kimberly Owens in the November election. District 6 is considered the most competitive district in a general election. Tariq Bokhari defeated his Democratic challenger by less than 400 votes in his last two races.
Charlotte City Council District 4
In City Council District 4, which includes much of the University City area, the intrigue lies with Johnson once again facing Wil Russell in a Democratic primary.
She defeated Russell in a tighter-than-average primary in 2023, 52.3% to 40.9%.
Russell managed to pick up rare big-name endorsements as a challenger in 2023, including Lyles, former Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt and former at-large and District 4 council member Greg Phipps
Johnson said at the time the endorsements “simply reiterate that my opponent will align with the status quo,” and she touted her own support from groups including the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte Mecklenburg. She made similar comments in her 2025 Observer candidate survey.
“As a construction leader backed by the establishment, (Russell) benefits from the city’s explosive growth. I lead a nonprofit that serves many displaced by it. As a former Realtor & nonprofit leader, I understand both economic growth and its human impact. I lead with people first. Not profit or politics,” Johnson wrote.
Back in 2023, Russell said he was “disappointed in Mrs. Johnson’s attacks against me, because my conversations with the Mayor are about my vision for District 4 and delivering real results to our community” and that there’s “a difference between the ‘development industry’ and an ‘affordable housing provider.’”
There’s “potential” for Russell to benefit in 2025 from “residual name recognition,” Heberlig said. But, he added, he’ll need money and volunteers to “to build from that” and get serious consideration from voters.
Whoever wins the District 4 primary is unopposed in the general election.
Charlotte City Council District 5
Molina’s Democratic challenger in east Charlotte’s District 5 is new to running for office in Charlotte but not new to politics.
Juan Diego “JD” Mazuera Arias worked for the outspoken New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic National Committee and The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank. He’s also chair of the Hispanic Democratic Caucus of Mecklenburg County and founder of the North Carolina Latino Political Caucus.
Arias has touted his experience and endorsements from former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts and state Rep. Jordan Lopez, who represents parts of east Charlotte in Raleigh.
Arias and Molina have squared off publicly during the campaign. The two clashed at a candidate forum earlier this month over Molina’s support for public funding for Bank of America Stadium renovations and the transportation referendum on the November ballot, The Charlotte Ledger reported.
The pair also traded comments in their Observer candidate surveys. Asked what separates her from her opponent, Molina wrote her “experience means that I bring not just vision, but real, measurable progress and deep-rooted community trust.” Arias said he’d “show up year-round, not just during election season,” that he’s “not funded by corporate PACs” and that he won’t “yield to other council members on major developments in our district” or “block constituents who disagree.”
Having a strong network in politics could help Arias, particularly with fundraising.
“But,” Heberlig said, “It’s often hard to translate that because the number of voters is so low in these local primary elections. Getting the right information to the right people is a key challenge.”
No Republicans are running in District 5, so the primary winner is guaranteed a seat on the council.
Other Charlotte City Council races
The other City Council races that are technically competitive will likely be less dramatic.
Charlotte’s four incumbent at-large City Council members face four challengers in the 2025 Democratic primary. But all are political newcomers with limited name recognition going up against established brands.
There is no Republican primary for the at-large seats, though current District 6 representative Peacock and former mayoral candidate Misun Kim will be on the ballot in November.
In City Council District 1 — which includes parts of uptown, Plaza Midwood and NoDa — Democrat Danté Anderson faces a primary against Charlene Henderson El. The challenger has run for multiple City Council seats before but never advanced past the primary stage. The winner in District 1 is guaranteed the seat because no Republicans filed to run for the seat.
Democrat Malcolm Graham and Republican Ed Driggs don’t have any primary challengers this year in their bids to keep representing District 2 and District 7, respectively. Unaffiliated candidate Lia White is trying to get on the general election ballot to run against Graham.
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
