Backlash from the left propels Levy to victory over Charlotte’s Rep. Majeed
Rare defeats of incumbents in competitive legislative races made for an eventful primary Election Day in Charlotte.
There were just four competitive primaries for the North Carolina House and Senate in Mecklenburg County this election cycle, and two incumbents lost. The marquee race of the night was Carla Cunningham’s high-profile, and ultimately unsuccessful, fight in north Charlotte’s House District 106.
But other interesting races played out, too. That includes fellow north Charlotte state House member Nasif Majeed also falling by a wide margin to a Democratic primary challenger after backlash to a veto override vote.
Elsewhere, GOP state Rep. Tricia Cotham easily survived a challenge from an unconventional opponent in southeast Mecklenburg’s District 105.
Of the four legislative primaries in Mecklenburg, only two will advance to a competitive general election race.
Majeed falls to Democratic primary challenge in House District 99
Majeed faced a serious primary threat after backlash within the Democratic Party over a veto override vote. The four-term north Charlotte Democrat ran against Veleria Levy — who’s worked in health care, run for office in Rowan County and served in local and state Democratic leadership roles.
A third candidate, Tucker Neal, also filed to run as a Democrat but later told The Charlotte Observer’s news partner WSOC-TV he was throwing his support behind Levy.
Levy outfundraised Majeed in the final stretch of the campaign, raising $23,918.99 in January and early February to his $15,600, according to campaign finance reports.
With the early vote and all nine precincts reporting, Levy won with 68.6% of the vote, followed by Majeed with 26.2% and Neal with 5.2%.
Levy and Majeed did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday’s results from an Observer reporter.
No Republican, unaffiliated or third-party candidates filed to run in the district, so Levy is guaranteed the seat.
Tricia Cotham easily wins Republican primary in House District 105
After narrowly securing another term in Raleigh in 2024 after her consequential party switch, Cotham easily defeated a newly minted Republican in her 2026 primary in southeast Mecklenburg’s District 105.
Kelly VanHorn, a teacher, switched her party registration shortly before filing to run for office and was part of a slate of candidates that’ve been disavowed by other Republican officials.
Cotham appeared to hold a financial advantage over VanHorn in the final stretch of the campaign. She raised $16,900 in the first quarter of 2026, according to her campaign finance report. Her campaign spent $5,268.37 in the period and ended it with $123,907.70 for the final stretch of primary season.
No first-quarter report was listed online for VanHorn as of Monday afternoon, but she told the Observer her campaign took no PAC money and had less than $500.
With all 18 precincts reporting, Cotham defeated VanHorn by a margin of 84.5% to 15.5%.
Cotham will face Democrat Ken McCool, a former Matthews town commissioner, in the general election.
Angel wins Democratic primary to face Vickie Sawyer in Senate District 37
Raygan Angel defeated Precinda Bjorgen in the Democratic primary for state Senate District 37. Angel will move on to face Republican incumbent Vickie Sawyer in the general election. The district includes much of Iredell County and a portion of northern Mecklenburg.
Angel, a law student who has been involved with the state Democratic Party, has not held elected office before.
With all 35 precincts reporting, Angel defeated Bjorgen by a margin of 62.5% to 37.5%.
Angel is likely to face a tough battle in the fall to oust Sawyer. The GOP senator won her last general election race in 2024 with 64.7% of the vote.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 9:12 PM.
