Susan Evans has beaten Ron Margiotta in the crucial Wake County Board of Education race in District 8, but the balance of power on the board is not decided yet.
Margiotta is the chairman of the Wake County school board and a leader of the Republican majority on the board. The Republicans had a 5-4 majority.
But Evans roared to victory with 7,100 votes while Margiotta had 6,515 Tuesday night. Margiotta ran unopposed when he first won office in 2007.
Three other Democrats won Tuesday, but incumbent Kevin Hill narrowly missed having a majority of the vote in District 3. That means Heather Losurdo, a Republican, can force a run-off, with the winning side having control of Wake schools.
Evans' race proved to be a stunner, with Evans blowing kisses to a crowd of supporters after ousting a man who had emerged as a force for change on the board. Evans said she was "proud that our community has voted to move forward," but refused to say she would push for immediate changes in school policies.
“I’m not going to make a quick decision,” Evans said, “but I promise that I will take this very, very seriously and I won’t be doing anything on impulse.”
Margiotta had hoped to serve one more term before retiring from the board. He had been part of the majority that pushed for neighborhood schools and an end to school assignment that included diversity.
“I accept the will of the people. It’s that simple,” Margiotta said.
“We must expect some changes to come with the change and the make-up of the school board.
“My concern is we might go back to where we were two years ago.”
Margiotta took note of attack mailers that came from outside groups; "I think it had to do with negative campaigning that was run on other side, the third or fourth parties spending a lot of money. I heard it was union money."
Evans admitted to being a bit overwhelmed by the victory and told NBC 17 News, "First and foremost I pledge to bring back a professional attitude toward the school board and lead with integrity and to give our community a school board they can be proud of."
Evans' victory capped a strong night for Democrats, although the elections are officially non-partisan. But whether Democrats can regain a majority remains to be seen.
In District 3, Hill, a Democrat, lead the voting with 8,083 votes, followed by Losurdo at 6,485. But Hill only had 49.7 percent of the vote, short of the majority needed to prevent a run-off. Losurdo had 39.9 percent.
In District 4, incumbent Keith Sutton, a Democrat, beat Venita Peyton. Sutton has 8,486 votes and Peyton 1,992 with all 19 precincts in.
In District 5, Jim Martin, a Democrat, led with 6,198 votes and Cynthia Matson followed with 2,970 with all 18 precincts reporting. Martin will replace Dr. Anne McLaurin, a Democrat who did not run for re-election.
In District 6, Christine Kushner won with 11,783 votes and Donna Williams was second with 6,683. Kushner, a Democrat, will replace Carolyn Morrison, a Democrat who did not run for re-election.
Check out our NBC 17 News story on this race and exclusive video of Evans victory speechin the video monitors above.
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