REPUBLICAN PRIMARY WINNERS MOVE ON TO COUNTY GENERAL ELECTION

Tuesday’s Republican Primary Election in Wayne County narrowed the field of candidates running for seats in county government, with most candidates in this election having affiliated themselves with the Republican Party. The candidates for some county offices are running unopposed in the County General Election, making it highly likely they will be elected in August. However, candidates will not be elected until they win the General Election on August 6th, 2026.

The office of County Executive had four Republican candidates on the ballot. John McDonald came out on top in the Republican Primary and is expected to be the new County Executive following the August 6th General Election. No Independent candidates qualified to be on the ballot in this race.

McDonald, who is a former Wayne County Commissioner, got 919 (36.5%) of the 2,516 votes cast for County Executive. Colby Staggs, a familiar face to many but a newcomer to Wayne County politics, came in second with 728 votes (28.9%). Incumbent County Executive Jim Mangubat came in third with 501 votes (19.9%), and former Wayne County Commissioner Phillip Casteel ended with a good showing of 364 votes (14.5%). All four candidates for County Executive ran as Republicans.

John McDonald carried eight of the voting precincts in the Primary Election, while Colby Staggs carried five and Phillip Casteel carried one. Jim Mangubat failed to carry any of the voting precincts in this election.

In the office of Circuit Court Clerk, incumbent Carol Warren was challenged by political newcomer Emily Crews Maghielse. Warren came out on top with 1,362 (56.6%) of the 2,408 votes cast. Maghielse received 1,043 (43.3%) of the votes. Warren carried all precincts except Buffalo River, where Maghielse garnered the most votes. Both Warren and Maghielse ran as Republicans, so the primary election gave a very good indication of who will be Circuit Court Clerk for the next four years.

The other contested race in county government, aside from seats on the County Commission, was the office of County Clerk. After incumbent County Clerk Stan Horton announced his retirement, only two candidates qualified to run for the office, and both declared affiliation with the Republican Party. James “Ronnie” Skelton claimed the victory, securing 1,511 (61.1%) of the 2,471 votes cast. Jessica Sledge Columbia, Skelton’s only opponent in the race, garnered 957 (38.7%) of the votes. Columbia came out on top in the six voting precincts located in the south part of the county, and Skelton carried the remaining eight precincts. Both Skelton and Columbia are newcomers to Wayne County politics.

All 14 seats on the Wayne County Commission will be on the ballot in August, with only three of those seats likely to be filled by incumbent County Commissioners. There will essentially be a new Wayne County Commission after the County General Election, with lots of new faces and new ideas. A County Commission with mostly new people and new ideas can certainly be a good thing, but the wisdom of retiring commissioners, some of whom have been on the commission for several years, will unfortunately leave with them.

Following is a description of each district’s candidates for County Commission, including party affiliation:

District 1 candidates: Cory Moser (R), Paxton Prince (R), and Logan Shull (R). In the Republican Primary, Prince and Shull secured the two District 1 seats with newcomer Paxton Prince receiving the most votes (280). Incumbent commissioner Logan Shull received 257 votes to secure the other District 1 seat, while Cory Moser came in third with a respectable 194 votes. No Independent candidates will be on the August ballot.

District 2 candidates: Randy Burns (I) and Jake Littrell (I). These will be the only County Commission candidates for District 2 on the ballot in August, as no candidates affiliated with the Republican Party qualified to run. Both incumbent District 2 Commissioners, Tom Mathis and Stephen “Fuzz” Pevahouse, made the decision not to run for re-election.

District 3 candidates: David “Shorty” Horner (R), Caleb J. Cummings (I), Charity Treadwell Horton (I), and Joe Kent (I). All these Independent candidates will be on the August 6th ballot. David “Shorty” Horner had no opposition in the Republican Primary, which guarantees that his name will be on the ballot in the General Election. Of all the District 3 candidates, Charity Horton is the only one to have experience in Wayne County politics, as she is currently a member of the Wayne County School Board. The other candidates in District 3 are all newcomers to Wayne County politics.

District 4 candidates: Josh Davis (R), Kenneth “Buddy” Hill (R), and Gunner Rich (R). The two District 4 candidates who came out on top in the Republican Primary were Gunner Rich with 236 votes and Josh Davis with 230 votes. Kenneth “Buddy” Hill finished his race with 143 votes. With no Independent opposition, Rich and Davis, both political newcomers, will be on the General Election ballot in August.

District 5 candidates: Victoria Lanier (R), Daniel Potete (R), Jeremy Robbins (I), and Derrek Sherrill (I). Lanier and Potete were victorious in the Republican Primary, being the only two Republican candidates on the ballot. In the primary, the votes were split almost evenly between the two, with Lanier receiving 226 and Potete receiving 218. The two Republicans will face off against two Independents on August 6th. These candidates are also new to the political arena.

District 6 candidates: Clayton Cross (R), David Martin (R), and Rickey Wright (R). The top two seats were secured by incumbent County Commissioner David Martin, who received 267 votes, and political newcomer Rickey Wright. Wright actually received a few more votes than Martin, coming in at 273. Cross finished with a respectable 148 votes. There will be no Independent candidates in District 6 on the August ballot.

District 7 candidates: Alvin Creecy (R), Ronnie Hobbs (I), and Eric Warren (I). Incumbent Wayne County Commissioner Alvin Creecy was the only Republican candidate who qualified in time for the Republican Primary, so he will face off against Hobbs and Warren in August. Ronnie Hobbs and Eric Warren are, like many of the candidates, newcomers to Wayne County politics.

Four other county government offices on the ballot in the Republican Primary had incumbent candidates running unopposed to retain their seats. Those offices are County Trustee - Marsheila “Sheila” Rich, Sheriff - Shane Fisher, Register of Deeds - Tyler Strait, and Road Superintendent - Chuck Moser. These four incumbents are guaranteed to be on the ballot, but as with all county offices, will not be elected until the General Election on August 6th.

Two seats on the Wayne County School Board, District 2 and District 5, will be on the ballot in August. No candidates for those two available seats declared a Republican Party affiliation, so the candidates on the August ballot will be listed as Independents.

Three seats on the Waynesboro City Commission will round out the August ballot. The three incumbent commissioners holding those seats, Christopher L. Bevis, Tony L. Creasy, and Jeffery Lynn Howell, are all running unopposed.

The Wayne County General Election will be held on Thursday, August 6th, 2026. The State Primary Election will be on the same date, and votes will be cast in both Republican and Democrat Primaries for state offices up for new terms.

The deadline to qualify to be a write-in candidate is Wednesday, June 17th, 2026.

Watch upcoming editions of the Wayne County News for more details on the Wayne County General Election. Some important dates to remember:

May 8 – July 27: Request absentee ballot

July 7: Last day to register to vote

July 17 – August 1: Early voting

August 6: Election Day