The Ballot Brief
28781

Who is on the ballot in 28781?

Macon County, NC

Reported by The Ballot Brief Editorial Team. Updated as public election and video sources change.

Fields below reflect the November 3, 2026 general election ballot as races are certified.

12 races on your November 3 ballot. Jump to:
U.S. Senate1U.S. House1Statewide4Local3Measures3
About this preview
County and municipal contests depend on your exact address — use the address lookup below for the full slate. Every race links to official sources on the North Carolina voter hub.
Sample Ballot Preview

28781 sample ballot preview: statewide, congressional and Macon County races

U.S. House, North Carolina District 11
3 candidates
Federal ▾
JC
Jennifer Capps Balkcom
REP
Biography
Jennifer Capps Balkcom is an eighth-generation Western North Carolinian raised on her family's apple farm in Henderson County, per her campaign site. She began her career in banking and finance in 1998 and now works as a Mortgage Loan Officer and small-business owner, per the campaign site. She currently represents Henderson County in the North Carolina House and is running for Congress in North Carolina's 11th District, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
  • Hurricane Helene recovery
  • Housing affordability
  • Rural health care
Per the WFAE.
Campaign siteFull profile
JA
Jamie Ager
DEM
Biography
Ager is a fifth-generation farmer who owns a sustainable meat company employing 25 people and holds degrees in environmental studies and history from Warren Wilson College, per the campaign site. He farms in Fairview in Western North Carolina, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
  • Cutting red tape to deliver Hurricane Helene recovery funding
  • Making healthcare more affordable and accessible
  • Restricting insider stock trading by members of Congress
Per the campaign site.
Campaign siteFull profile
TG
Travis Groo
Biography
Travis Groo is a trucking safety specialist, per press coverage of the race. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile
About this race
North Carolina fields are from the State Board of Elections' certified general candidate list. NC redrew its congressional map in October 2025, so district boundaries differ from 2024 in the east; enter your street address with the official lookup to confirm your district. OPEN RACE: Rep. Chuck Edwards withdrew from the race in August 2026 and serves out his term; the district Republican committee nominated state Rep. Jennifer Capps Balkcom, certified August 11, per NC Newsline and WFAE.
U.S. Senate
4 candidates
Federal ▾
RC
Roy Cooper
DEM
Biography
Roy Cooper is the Democratic nominee for North Carolina's open U.S. Senate seat, a two-term former governor and four-term former attorney general. His Senate campaign's central theme is making everyday life cost less for North Carolinians, building on a gubernatorial record that included signing Medicaid expansion. The race for retiring Sen. Thom Tillis's seat is rated among the most competitive in the country.
Top Priorities
  • Lower everyday costs for North Carolina families
  • Protect health care access, building on Medicaid expansion
  • Invest in public schools and workforce training
Campaign Finance
$26,822,373 raised · top industries: Large donors giving $2,000+ (49% of receipts), Small-dollar donors under $200 (21% of receipts)
Key voting record
Signed North Carolina's Medicaid expansion into law in 2023, extending health coverage to hundreds of thousands of residents after years of advocacy. Supported
Vetoed the legislature' abortion ban in 2023, calling it an attack on reproductive freedom. Opposed
Campaign siteFull profile
MW
Michael Whatley
REP
Biography
Michael Whatley is the Republican nominee for North Carolina's open U.S. Senate seat, the former chair of the Republican National Committee and previously of the North Carolina GOP. Endorsed by President Trump, his campaign pledges to enact the America First agenda in the Senate, with an emphasis on law and order and rolling back policies like cashless bail.
Top Priorities
  • Enact the Trump administration's America First agenda
  • Restore law and order, including ending cashless bail
  • Secure the border and back law enforcement
Campaign Finance
$8,410,252 raised · top industries: Large donors giving $2,000+ (62% of receipts), Small-dollar donors under $200 (23% of receipts)
Campaign siteFull profile
Shannon W. Bray portrait
SW
Shannon W. Bray
Biography
Shannon W. Bray is a U.S. Navy veteran who served from 1991 to 1997 and now works as a cybersecurity professional and systems architect, according to his campaign site. Bray's background includes work on systems handling sensitive information and critical infrastructure. Bray is the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina.
Top Priorities
  • Opposing expansion of government surveillance and protecting digital privacy rights
  • Government transparency and accountability systems auditable by the public
  • Modernizing government technology systems while maintaining constitutional limits on defense and intelligence oversight
Per the campaign site.
Campaign siteFull profile
MD
Michael Dublin
Biography
Michael Dublin is a public school educator and community activist, according to his campaign site. He filed as the North Carolina Green Party's U.S. Senate candidate on June 15, 2026, per the state Green Party. Dublin is running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina in the November 2026 general election.
Top Priorities
  • Overturning Citizens United and ending gerrymandering
  • A Green New Deal for North Carolina with renewable energy development and union jobs
  • Criminal justice reform, voting rights protection, and expanded access to housing and education
Per the campaign site.
Campaign siteFull profile
Supreme Court Associate Justice, Seat 01
2 candidates
Statewide ▾
AE
Anita Earls
DEM
Biography
Earls is an attorney who currently serves as an Associate Justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, per the campaign site. Her campaign focuses on protecting constitutional rights for North Carolinians, per the campaign site.
Top Priorities
  • Upholding the state constitution
  • Protecting access to healthcare
  • Defending the right to a sound basic public education and voting rights
Per the NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide.
Campaign siteFull profile
SS
Sarah Stevens
REP
Biography
Sarah Stevens is an attorney with more than 30 years in private practice and president of the Surry County Bar Association, per her campaign site. She has served as Republican Leader and Speaker Pro Tempore of the North Carolina House, chairing the House Elections Law and Judiciary Committees, and holds a law degree from Campbell University School of Law, per her campaign site.
Campaign siteFull profile
Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 01
2 candidates
Statewide ▾
JS
John S. Arrowood
DEM
Biography
John S. Arrowood is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile
MC
Michael C. Byrne
REP
Biography
Michael C. Byrne is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile
Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 02
2 candidates
Statewide ▾
T(
Tobias (Toby) Hampson
DEM
Biography
Tobias (Toby) Hampson is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Top Priorities
  • Keeping judges with Court of Appeals experience on the bench
  • Defending the rule of law
Per the NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide.
Full profile
GC
George Cooper Bell
REP
Biography
George Cooper Bell is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile
Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 03
2 candidates
Statewide ▾
CM
Christine Marie Walczyk
DEM
Biography
Christine Marie Walczyk is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Top Priorities
  • Protecting individual liberties and equal access to justice
  • Maintaining an independent judiciary
Per the NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide.
Full profile
CC
Craig Collins
REP
Biography
Craig Collins is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.
Full profile

Countywide races in Macon County

ZIP 28781 sits in Macon County, per the Census crosswalk. These seats are voted countywide; district seats, city races and school boards need a street address. All Macon County races (5).

North Carolina District Court Judge, District 43, Seat 1
1 candidate
County ▾
DF
Donna Forga
REP INCUMBENT
Biography
Donna Forga was appointed chief district court judge for the judicial district covering Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties effective December 2024, per a North Carolina Judicial Branch news release. Forga was first elected to the bench in 2010 and earlier worked in private practice and as a staff attorney for Legal Aid of North Carolina, per the same release. No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026.
Full profile
Why only one name?
Only one name is on the ballot for this office: no other candidate qualified. An unopposed candidate is elected unless a write-in outpolls them where write-ins are allowed, so this line still counts as a vote.
About this race
Donna Forga (Republican) is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot for North Carolina District Court Judge, District 43, Seat 1. Voters across Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties vote on this seat, per North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 7A. North Carolina judicial races have been partisan since the 2018 court reorganization. The field is the State Board of Elections' certified general-election candidate list (read September 7, 2026).
North Carolina District Court Judge, District 43, Seat 2
1 candidate
County ▾
JB
Justin B. Greene
DEM INCUMBENT
Biography
Justin B. Greene currently serves as a District Court Judge for District 43 in Haywood County, per the North Carolina Judicial Branch directory. A Swain County native, Greene has practiced law out of Bryson City since 2006, per WCTI-TV. No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026.
Full profile
Why only one name?
Only one name is on the ballot for this office: no other candidate qualified. An unopposed candidate is elected unless a write-in outpolls them where write-ins are allowed, so this line still counts as a vote.
About this race
Justin B. Greene (Democratic) is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot for North Carolina District Court Judge, District 43, Seat 2. Voters across Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties vote on this seat, per North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 7A. North Carolina judicial races have been partisan since the 2018 court reorganization. The field is the State Board of Elections' certified general-election candidate list (read September 7, 2026).
North Carolina District Court Judge, District 43, Seat 3
1 candidate
County ▾
W(
William (Bill) Jones
DEM INCUMBENT
Biography
William (Bill) Jones is a district court judge for Judicial District 43, appointed by Governor Josh Stein and sworn in on March 3, 2025 at the Haywood County Courthouse, per the North Carolina Governor's office. He most recently served as a solo practitioner for over two decades and previously worked as an assistant district attorney in District 30 from 1998 to 2003, and he received his law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law, per themountaineer.com. No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026.
Full profile
Why only one name?
Only one name is on the ballot for this office: no other candidate qualified. An unopposed candidate is elected unless a write-in outpolls them where write-ins are allowed, so this line still counts as a vote.
About this race
William (Bill) Jones (Democratic) is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot for North Carolina District Court Judge, District 43, Seat 3. Voters across Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties vote on this seat, per North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 7A. North Carolina judicial races have been partisan since the 2018 court reorganization. The field is the State Board of Elections' certified general-election candidate list (read September 7, 2026).

Statewide, North Carolina voters also decide 3 ballot questions — see the North Carolina ballot measures guide.

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Ballot info questions for 28781

Who is running for mayor in 28781?

Mayor races depend on the city tied to your address. Use the full-address lookup, then confirm with your city or county election office.

When is the primary election in this state?

Primary dates vary by state. Use this page's official election links to confirm the next primary deadline for your address.

Can I vote early in 28781?

Early voting rules vary by state and county. Check your official election links for dates, locations, and ID rules.

Where can I see a sample ballot for 28781?

Start with the Ballot Brief lookup results for this ZIP. If you need more district precision, use the Local page with a full address.

Data sources

Where does The Ballot Brief verify ballot info for 28781?

Vote.gov Official federal voter registration and voting information gateway.State election offices Official directory for state election deadlines, ballot rules, and voter resources.Federal Election Commission Federal candidate filings and campaign finance data.Congress.gov members Official congressional member records and identifiers.