The early voting and absentee results for the Cumberland County 2026 Primary Election show a total of 3,826 ballots cast, representing a 7.80% voter turnout among the county’s 49,068 registered voters. The vast majority of these votes were cast through walk-in early voting (3,692), with paper absentee ballots making up the remaining 134. As of this report, election day totals from the 23 precincts have not yet been integrated.

High-Profile County Races

In the race for County Mayor, incumbent Republican Allen Foster holds a commanding lead with 82.37% of the vote (2,715 votes) over challenger Michael Findley, who received 17.51% (577 votes). The Democratic primary for mayor saw no qualified candidates, with only 8 write-in votes recorded. For County Trustee, Kim Tollett Wyatt leads Jill Ritzman with 65.24% of the Republican vote. In the Register of Deeds Republican primary, Trey Kerley is ahead of Steve Powell with 71.17% of the vote. Several Republican incumbents ran effectively unopposed, including Sheriff Casey D. Cox (99.62%), Circuit Court Clerk Jessica R. Burgess (99.87%), and County Clerk Jule Bryson (99.91%).

County Commission and School Board

The Republican County Commission primaries show tight races in several districts. Notably, in District 5, Terry Lowe (39.77%) and Jack Davis (37.68%) currently lead Rich Dabkowski (22.06%) for the two available spots. In District 9, Colleen K. Mall (40.86%) and John L. Patterson, Jr. (32.11%) lead John Wedgworth (27.03%). Other districts, such as District 4, show a dead heat between Gary Adams and David H. Gibson, both sitting at exactly 49.31%. On the Democratic side, most commission seats had no qualified candidates, with the exception of Deborah Holbrook in District 8 and James Janecek in District 9, both of whom ran unopposed.

In the School Board Republican primaries, candidates Sheryl L. Nichols (District 3), Chris Seals (District 5), Blair Woodcock (District 7), and Dan Schlafer (District 9) all maintained nearly 100% of the vote as they ran unopposed within their party. District 1 currently has no qualified candidates on either side, showing only a small number of write-in votes.