Weldon wins superintendent primary race

Published 12:13 am Wednesday, March 6, 2024

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Chambers County has spoken. Sharon Weldon won the Republican candidate for the primary superintendent race on Tuesday night. Weldon won by 61 percent against incumbent Casey Chambley’s 38.7 percent. 

“I’m overwhelmed, I’m proud, I’m humbled, I’m excited, I’m nervous,” Weldon said in a Facebook live interview with the VTN. “You talk about extremes, that’s where I am right now. But I’m so excited. I love Chambers County, I love Chambers County School District, and I love all the children. I love all the communities here.”

Weldon won 14 of the 16 precincts in Chambers County by a landslide. When asked what the results of the primary elections say about what the voters want, Weldon said, “I think what it says is that the citizens of Chambers County want to be heard. They want to know that they’ve got a voice and that there’s somebody in place that’s going to listen to that voice.”

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Throughout the primary race, Weldon has stuck firmly to her message, promising to be an advocate for the community.

“I’m going to listen. I can’t always agree but when I don’t agree, I’m going to let you know why I can’t agree,” she said. “… I’m just going to keep things real for people, and we’re going to work together. We’re going to move forward together.”

Instead of standing outside of precincts, Weldon said she spent the day of the election in the classroom teaching “about the value of cones and value of triangular prisms getting ready for the ACAP.” 

“I’ve worked really hard to not sacrifice instructional time with my students because I have gone back into the classroom,” Weldon said. “So I’m going to finish this year strong with my eighth graders and my seventh graders that I teach every day and getting geared up the for general election in November.”

Now that the primary race is over, Weldon will be gearing up to face off against Democratic candidate Winford Ashmore, who ran unopposed in the primaries. 

“I’m so excited to continue this journey here,” Weldon said. “I’ll probably take a few deep breaths before I have to get back up but I’m going to be ready and I’m going to be strong in November as well.”

In the interview, Weldon thanked her supporters and voters for getting out in the rain to vote and make their voices heard.

The VTN reached out to Chambley for comment on the results but did not get an immediate response.