Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Gaston County, NC (WNN)- Voters across Gaston County elected new mayors and council members in Tuesday's municipal elections, with races decided in Cherryville, Gastonia, Belmont, and other municipalities.
According to the Gaston County Board of Elections, only 17,000 ballots were cast out of 106,375 registered voters for the Nov. 4, 2025, election. This means 16.16% of Gaston County voted. This is well below the NCSBE's reported 2022 average for North Carolinians of 51.14%.
Below is a breakdown of the unofficial 2025 election results:
Wade Stroupe had no opponents in the race to become Cherryville's mayor. He secured 411 votes, amounting to 95.58% of the overall count. The city also chose Gary Freeman to represent Ward 1 and Jill Parker Puett to represent Ward 3; both candidates ran unopposed.
Cherryville Candidates: Jill Puett, Wade Stroupe, and Gary Freeman.
WNN
Meanwhile, Kings Mountain saw three competitive council races. Scott Neisler won the at-large seat, receiving 36 votes and accounting for 41.86% of the total. In Ward 2, Tim Sanders beat Mike Butler by a single vote, with eight votes against Butler's seven. Heather Lemmond claimed victory in Ward 3, receiving 21 votes, which accounted for 47.73% of the overall vote.
Voters decided four Gastonia City Council races, including contests in three wards and one short-term position.
In Ward 1, Demetrios Koutsoupias won by a large margin, earning 853 votes, which made up 64.62% of the total. He defeated both Adam Olivieri and Walter James Hart Jr. This shows that, despite originally being appointed to the empty Ward 1 position in 2024, Koutsoupias was a popular pick for the spot.
Gastonia Councilman Demetrios Koutsoupias
City of Gastonia Website
The Ward 2 election was much tighter. Glenn Silverman narrowly beat Kathy Boswell by just 45 votes, finishing with 491 to her 446.
In Ward 5, Jennifer M. Stepp claimed victory with 841 votes, or 58.20%, against Clark Simon, who received 600 votes.
Gastonia Councilwoman Jennifer Stepp.
City of Gastonia Website
Angela Dreher won the most competitive citywide race in Ward 4's unexpired term contest. She secured 3,771 votes, which accounted for 54.63% of the total, beating Cheryl Littlejohn, who received 3,104 votes from 22 precincts.
Joe Jordan won the Belmont mayoral election with 2,279 votes. He earned about 64% of the total votes, defeating his opponent, Cory Miller, who garnered 1,283 votes.
Belmont, NC Councilman Joe Jordan
Joe Jordan Campaign Page
In the Belmont City Council election, two representatives were selected by the residents from a group of seven candidates. Marc Seelinger won by gaining 1,812 votes, making up 26.63% of the total. Close behind, Alex Szucs earned 1,748 votes, accounting for 25.69%. Katherine O'Kane came in third place with 1,190 votes but failed to secure a council seat.
In Cramerton, the current Mayor, Nelson Wills, kept his position by winning re-election with 629 votes, representing 90.76% of the total. Kathy Ramsey and Ronnie Worley grabbed the two available seats for town commissioner.
Mount Holly voters picked three council members out of seven candidates. Lauren Shoemaker received the most votes with 1,210, Ivory Craig Jr. followed with 1,201 votes, and William T. Brooks came in third with 970 votes.
Lowell also voted for three council members. Thomas Gillespie, Shane Robinson, and Travis Smith received the highest number of votes among the six candidates.
Several smaller towns, such as Dallas, Ranlo, Stanley, and McAdenville, also held elections for their councils on Tuesday.
The closest race happened in Ward 2 of Bessemer City. Nellie Black Floyd won against Michael Meeks Sr by just five votes. She scored 243 to his 238.
Bessemer City, NC Councilwoman Nellie Black Floyd
Bessemer City Website
Note: These Election results are not official until they are certified by a board of elections. County boards of elections in North Carolina were scheduled to meet on November 4 to approve the votes. The official election results will be out on Nov. 14.
For an overview of the results of each town, click here.
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