Unaffiliated gains trail state norm in District 32

(The Center Square) – For a candidate in North Carolina’s Republican primary in six weeks, the effort to have Democrats change registration to unaffiliated so they can send her to the state House of Representatives doesn’t appear to have moved many in the two counties involved.

Pamela Ayscue is trying to win House District 32, an area near Kerr Lake on the Virginia border that encompasses Granville County and the northern part of Vance inclusive of Henderson. On Jan. 10, she asked via social media for fellow Democrats to renounce their party affiliation by the Feb. 6 deadline, choosing instead to be unaffiliated in order to be able to choose a Republican ballot in the primary.

On Super Tuesday, she is up against former Rep. Frank Sossamon in the Republican primary. Both are Henderson residents.

In the week since her ask, according to Saturday’s release of registrations by the State Board of Elections, Granville County gained 281 total registrations and 177 voters chose unaffiliated. That’s just under 63%, or 10%...