Who's running for Raleigh City Council in 2026
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
The Raleigh City Council will once again be on the ballot next year, and most of the council's incumbents are poised to run for reelection.
Why it matters: This will be the last city council election when every seat will appear on the ballot at the same time, as the city transitions to four-year terms starting next year.
- The goal of that move is to increase continuity in city governance.
Between the lines: To manage the transition, the races in this upcoming election will be staggered.
- The mayor, the at-large seat receiving the most votes, and districts A and B will begin four-year terms in 2026.
- The at-large seat with the second-most votes and districts C, D and E will begin a two-year term in 2026 and then run again in 2028.
Here's who is running:
Mayor: Janet Cowell, a former state treasurer who won her first term as mayor in 2024, is the frontrunner.
- The only other candidate to file is Ashleigh Heath Armstrong, who does not yet appear to have a campaign website.
At-large: Perhaps the most interesting race on the ballot, as incumbent councilor Jonathan Lambert-Melton has decided to run for a spot on the Wake County Board of Commissioners. Here's who is running for the two at-large spots:
- The only at-large incumbent in the race is Stormie Forte, who has been on the City Council since 2020. She is currently mayor pro tem, a licensed attorney and radio show host.
- Cameron Zamot, the owner of The Bike Library and an advocate for commuting by bike and walking.
- Sana Siddiqui, an N.C. State graduate and founder of Get 2 Know Raleigh, which aims to bring people together through community events.
- Clark Rinehart, the interim director of the Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership and former head of Innovate Raleigh.
- James Bledsoe, a U.S. Army veteran who has run for the City Council for several cycles in a row.
- Joshua Bradley, an accounting manager for a hotel and a frequently seen activist at council meetings. Bradley has run in several previous elections and is a member of the Ecosocialist Working Group of the Socialist Party-USA.
District A: Mitchell Silver, a former planning director for Raleigh, is the incumbent after winning his seat in 2024.
- He is being challenged by Whitney Hill, a web services consultant who finished second in the 2024 election.
District B: Incumbent council member Megan Patton, who has been on the council since 2022, is running unopposed for reelection.
District C: Corey Branch, who has been on the council since 2015, has filed again to run in the district.
- He will face off against Diana Powell, a violence prevention specialist; Jared Ollison, a Capitol police officer who finished fifth in the 2024 election; and Tolulope Omokaiye.
District D: Jane Harrison, who has represented District D on council since 2022, is running again.
- She will be challenged by Jevon Smith-Cook, who does not appear to have a campaign site yet.
District E: Christina Jones, who has been on City Council since 2022, is running for reelection.
- Her seat is being challenged by Marc Scruggs, who previously served on the council in the mid-'90s and early 2000s.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show that Janet Cowell began her first term as mayor in 2024 (not 2026).