Here are The Charlotte Observer’s endorsements in 2026 primary elections
Early voting has begun in North Carolina’s primary election, which will take place on Tuesday, March 3. Mecklenburg County voters will see races for the U.S. House, N.C. General Assembly, sheriff and more on their ballot. More information about our endorsement process can be found here. For more information about the candidates themselves and how to vote, check out The Charlotte Observer’s full voter guide.
Links to our endorsements in contested races are below.
Observer endorsements: Our choices in Mecklenburg’s NC House and Senate primaries
Charlotte Observer endorsement: Our choice for Mecklenburg sheriff
Charlotte Observer endorsements: Our choices in Mecklenburg County Commission primaries
Charlotte Observer endorsements: Our choices in U.S. House primaries
US Senate endorsement: For NC voters in GOP primary, who can hold off Cooper?
Charlotte Observer endorsements: Our choices in NC, Mecklenburg judicial primaries
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we do our endorsements
Members of the combined Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer editorial boards are conducting interviews and research of candidates in municipal and state elections. The combined board is led by N.C. Opinion Editor Peter St. Onge, who is joined in Raleigh by deputy Opinion editor Ned Barnett and in Charlotte by deputy Opinion editor Paige Masten. Board members also include Observer editor Rana Cash and News & Observer editor Nicole Stockdale.
The editorial board also talks with others who know the candidates and have worked with them. When we’ve completed our interviews and research, we discuss each race and decide on our endorsements.
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM.