By Miles Layton

EDENTON — The Chowan County Republican Party held its annual Dinner with the Candidates on Saturday night at Nixon’s Catering, drawing a full house of GOP faithful eager to hear from the slate of local, judicial and legislative candidates ahead of this fall’s election.

Laurie Buckhout, Republican congressional candidate for District 1, was the headliner — her story appears here.

Sheriff Ed Basnight, state Rep. Ed Goodwin, state Sen. Norman Sanderson, Superior Court Judge Robert Trivette, District Court candidate Kyle Jones, and county commission candidates Lisa Perry and Larry McLaughlin each took a turn at the podium, mixing personal stories with policy pitches and, in more than one case, direct appeals for voters to keep reading all the way down the ballot.

Chowan County GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Rice and the organizers deserve a thumbs-up for making this event a showcase of political candidates. A big crowd attended the event, and Nixon’s always serves good food.

Story’s photo shows Goodwin talking to the crowd of Republican faithful.

Goodwin, seeking another term representing the district in Raleigh, leaned on his biography rather than a policy laundry list. He told the crowd about growing up a “country boy” on a farm that raised cattle and grew tobacco and cotton, and about choosing East Carolina University because it was close enough to get home on weekends. It was a folksy speech built around the idea that public service is a calling rather than a career move — a theme he returned to several times, framing his years in the legislature as an extension of the same values he says he learned working the family farm.

Side note — Ed’s mother, Gray Goodwin, is 101 years old, and she’s a good singer — knows the hymns by heart. She sang her all-time favorite hymn, “No One Cared for Me Like Jesus,” at her birthday party at Macedonia Baptist Church.

Sanderson, the district’s state senator, used much of his time at the microphone to address what he called “the elephant in the room” — a DUI charge he pleaded guilty to and has since talked about publicly.

“I made a stupid decision, and I admitted that I made that mistake,” he told the room. “I don’t want any special favors. I don’t want to try to lower the charge on this case.” He said he’d installed a breathalyzer-interlock device in his truck and described the arrest as a turning point that reordered his priorities. “I praise God every day that it ended the way it did,” he said, adding that he personally apologized “to my wife, my family, a lot of my constituents, my fellow elected senators.”

As to this country editor, I’d like to say Sanderson is a good man and dedicated to Eastern North Carolina. Time and again, Sanderson has stood up for the issues and been tireless in his representation of our senate district.

Back to our story: Sanderson pivoted to the legislature’s record on taxes, telling the crowd that North Carolina’s personal income tax rate has fallen from 7.85 percent to 4.99 percent since Republicans took the General Assembly, with a further cut to 3.99 percent set for next year. He pointed to a $4 billion “rainy day” reserve fund the state tapped after damage from Hurricane Helene in the mountains, and urged voters to look past the top of the ballot to three constitutional amendments he said would lock in recent tax and spending policy.

McLaughlin, running for another term as county commissioner after nearly eight years on the board, framed his pitch around institutional memory. “It’s been a good experience, a learning experience, and a wonderful experience,” he said of his time in office, noting he’s lived in the county 32 years and previously worked as a contractor and coached youth football, soccer and basketball — connections he said help him know “a lot of the families” he represents. As chairman of the capital improvement committee, he walked through a string of county building repairs he’s shepherded, from a leaking courthouse roof to new storm windows on the historic courthouse. “I’m a big advocate for storm windows,” he said, only half-joking that he might go sell them for a living if county government doesn’t work out. His allotted five minutes ran out mid-story, prompting a good-natured warning from the emcee that some speakers “go on and on.”

Side note about McLaughlin: you may see him in Colonial period costume during Edenton’s historic events. He’s even been a narrator/grave digger in local productions of A Christmas Carol. And he’s a talented carpenter.

Moving forward — Lisa Perry will be a good addition to the county commission.

Running unopposed for a county commission seat, Perry used most of her remarks to endorse three school board candidates — George Lewis, Ricky Browder and Florence Winslow — and urged the crowd to write their names down. She said it is important to “continue the progress that we’re making.”

Sheriff Basnight, seeking re-election, traced his three-decade law enforcement career from a first job with the Eden Police Department in 1998 through patrol work, a decade as a K-9 handler, and stints as sergeant and lieutenant before his appointment as sheriff. “Experience matters,” he told the crowd. He credited an early mentor with teaching him that policing is as much about relationships as enforcement — “It’s not just about going after the bad guys. It’s about meeting the people, sitting down and talking with them.”

Judge Robert Trivette, running for Superior Court, opened with a pun he’s clearly used before, comparing his last name to a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. “Remember the Corvette. Corvette,” he said. “That’s really what I try to do as a judge: hold people accountable.” Trivette, the chief district court judge in the seven-county First Judicial District for the past two years, said he’s spent “16 years” on the bench after a career as a trial lawyer. He argued for tougher sentencing in drug-death cases and pointed to procedural reforms he’s championed, including North Carolina’s shift to a fully electronic court system, and touted his recent work launching treatment and recovery courts for defendants with substance-abuse and mental-health issues.

Kyle Jones, running for District Court judge, introduced himself as a 13-year veteran of the district attorney’s office who also served as a county commissioner from 2012 to 2024, including a term as chairman in 2017. Jones reminded the crowd that district court — not superior court — handles the bulk of everyday legal business residents actually encounter, from speeding tickets to child-custody and DSS cases. With turnout likely to be tight in his race, he closed with a direct appeal: “Turnout is going to be key.”

Worth noting, Jones’ wife is a theater teacher at Perquimans High School – District’s Teacher of the Year for 2025.