Nancy Waldrop — the wife of current Buncombe Commissioner David King — earned an unaffiliated spot on the Nov. 4 ballot and immediately launched a campaign to represent District 3 on the board of commissioners.
She faces Republican Miranda DeBruhl, who defeated King in the May primary. District 3 encompasses the most conservative part of Buncombe County and includes Enka-Candler, Sandy Mush and Biltmore Forest. Waldrop, a longtime registered Republican voter, is running as an unaffiliated candidate. To get on the ballot without the backing of either of the major parties, she needed to collect 2,300 signatures from registered voters in the district by June 27. She exceeded that goal, submitting 3,279 verified signatures to the Buncombe County Board of Elections more than a week before the deadline.
That could put Waldrop in a strong position going into the general election: The number of signatures she gathered is significantly more than the 2,054 votes DeBruhl received in the Republican primary. However, DeBruhl’s votes were enough for the political newcomer to soundly defeat King by a margin of 59 percent to 37 percent. Waldrop jumped into the race after her husband’s May 6 loss.
During the GOP primary, DeBruhl slammed King for votes he took with the Democratic majority to raise the sales tax rate, as well as a trip he took to France as part of his duties serving on the Economic Development Coalition of Asheville-Buncombe County board.
In her statement announcing the start of her general election campaign, Waldrop says she’ll provide “voters with a more moderate option to conservative Republican candidate Miranda Debruhl.” Waldrop is a Western North Carolina native with a Master’s Degree in Education from Western Carolina University and 30 years of teaching experience. She has also been co-owner of a small coffee and gift shop, and as a realtor, co-operated her own real estate office.
