On the last day, Michael Hawkins Sr. of Roanoke Rapids filed to make it a contested race for the Halifax County Clerk of Courts position. He will run against incumbent Becky Spragins.

Other local election filings for the primary remain unchanged as challengers O.D. Sykes and Patrick Qualls will run against incumbents Vernon Bryant, Rives Manning and James Pierce for three at-large seats on the Halifax County Board of Commissioners.

(A complete listing of final filings, including state, federal and judicial races is included as a PDF attachment at the end of this story)

Halifax County District Attorney Melissa Pelfrey will run against Judicial District 6B District Attorney Valerie Asbell for the newly created Judicial District 6 DA's position.

In another hotly contested local race, challengers Brad Bradley, Claude “Clutch” Cooper, Joy Silver Lashley, Shawn T. Mitchell and Jeff Peedin are seeking the incumbent seats of C.J. Carmon, Susie Lynch Evans and Tyus S. Few on the Halifax County Board of Education.

In the biggest surprise leading into the primary, Weldon Police Chief Mark Macon announced he would be running for sheriff as an independent on the November ballot, leaving incumbent Wes Tripp and challenger Tyree Davis to fight it out in May.