County Chairman Neal Bennett was re-elected to a fourth term and the Pierce County Commission will have two new faces in the new term in January, 2027.
Those were the local results from last Tuesday’s General Primary Election. Bennett defeated local businessman Austin Boatright 95 votes to eke out a win. Bennett had 1,708 votes to Boatright’s 1,603 in a race that was tight throughout the night.
Bennett thanked voters for their confidence in him and for giving him another term.
“I am honored to continue serving our community and working to move Pierce County forward,” he said.
Retail store manager Jason Christmas also eked out an outright 10-vote victory and avoided a run-off in the district 2 county commission race. Christmas finished with 402 votes. Retired banker and former Blackshear Mayor Dick Larson was a close second with 358 votes and local contractor Jerry Ed Rich finished a distant third with just 23 votes.
Christmas said he is humbled to be elected to represent district 2.
“I am truly humbled and blown away from the amount of support I received that helped me win...(t)he amount of calls, texts, Facebook messages or just talking to a voter on their front porch was mesmerizing,” he said. “Thank you for the opportunity to serve the community I love and the honor to represent you in District 2.”
Christmas will succeed outgoing Second District Commissioner Graham Raley in January. Raley will be moving out of the district in the coming year and stepped down from the seat after one term.
Moore defeated Incumbent Fourth District Commissioner David Lowman by a large margin, 711-352. Moore led the race all night and the outcome was never in doubt.
Moore said he feels it is a deep honor to be elected.
“I am...grateful for the trust you have placed in me by electing me...” he said. “As your commissioner, I am committed to listening to your concerns and working to address them. Together, we will build a stronger community.”
Moore thanked the Lord and his wife, Lauran, his family and also thanked Lowman for his dedication and service to Pierce County.
Turnout was 28.57 percent as 3,737 of the county’s 13,079 registered voters even bothered to cast ballots. As has been the case for the past 24 years, Republican ballots outnumbered Democratic ballots in the primary by about 3,400-330.
