RALEIGH, N.C. — Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell cruised to a second term Tuesday, every City Council incumbent on the ballot kept a seat, and engineer and entrepreneur Sana Siddiqui won the one council seat that was guaranteed to change hands.
Cowell, a Democrat who previously served as state treasurer and on the council, took more than 80% of the vote over Ashleigh Heath Armstrong, who drew 17% and ran a low-profile campaign. Write-in votes for mayor came to less than 2%.
In the four-way race for two at-large seats, incumbent Stormie Forte led with 37%, and Siddiqui was second with 32%. The open seat came from council member Jonathan Lambert-Melton’s decision to run for the Wake County Board of Commissioners instead of seeking another council term. Siddiqui is likely to be the council’s first naturalized citizen, first Muslim member and first member of South Asian descent.
District results went the incumbents’ way as well. Mitchell Silver won a second term in North Raleigh’s District A with 60% over Whitney Hill. Megan Patton had no opponent in District B. Corey Branch, the longest-serving member, won a sixth term in District C with 71%. Jane Harrison kept her southwest Raleigh seat with 81%, and Christina Jones took 70% in northwest Raleigh over former council member Marc Scruggs.
This is the first election under term changes Raleigh adopted in 2024. The mayor, the District A and B members and the top at-large finisher get four-year terms. The District C, D and E winners and the second at-large finisher serve two years, and those seats move to four-year terms in 2028, so half the council will be elected every two years.
Cowell said her next term will focus on finishing major downtown projects, keeping affordable housing efforts going and expanding transportation options.
Section: More Raleigh NC politics news
Filed under: Raleigh NC Politics News
