Josie Barnhart (New Hanover County Board of Education, North Carolina, candidate 2026)

Josie Barnhart

Republican Party

Candidate, New Hanover County Board of Education

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2026

Personal

Profession

Educator

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Josie Barnhart (Republican Party) ran for election to the New Hanover County Board of Education in North Carolina. Barnhart was on the ballot in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026.^[source]

Barnhart completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Josie Barnhart provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on January 27, 2026:

• Bachelor's: University of Central Florida University of Central Florida, Bachelor of Education, Mathematics, 2009
• Profession: Educator
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook

Elections

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for New Hanover County Board of Education (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for New Hanover County Board of Education on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Nelson Beaulieu
	Submit photo	Wendy Dale
	Submit photo	Margie Gewirtzman
	Submit photo	Jerry Jones Jr.
		Brittnei LaRue
	Submit photo	Rick Southerland

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	Incumbency information for this race was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Republican primary

Republican primary for New Hanover County Board of Education (4 seats)

Josie Barnhart (R), Pat Bradford (R), Amy Dunning (R), Melissa Mason (R), and Chris Sutton (R) ran in the Republican primary for New Hanover County Board of Education on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Josie Barnhart
	Submit photo	Pat Bradford
	Submit photo	Amy Dunning
	Submit photo	Melissa Mason
		Chris Sutton

---

	Incumbency information for this race was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Barnhart in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Josie Barnhart completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Barnhart's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Josie Barnhart and I am a current member of the New Hanover County Board of Education running for reelection. I remain committed to ensuring all students receive a quality education no matter where they are zoned. Parents should be partners in their student’s educational experience and I am committed to protecting parental rights, ensuring safer schools, promoting real accountability, and expanding opportunities for every student. As a board member and mother, I listen to families, work with teachers and administrators, and push for practical policies.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Academic Accountability - Student accountability must remain a priority. Public schools are designed to deliver a sound, basic education, and policies that reduce accountability weaken that mission. Holding students responsible for their actions without lowering standards is critical to long-term success.
• Consistent Staffing - The district had less turnover than the state average last year. I helped secure funding for Advanced Teaching Roles into NHCS and for the last 2 years, 565 at risk students have been provided that support with a highly effective teacher, continuing this trend will allow academics to thrive. While compensation matters, the daily support our employees feel is just as critical to overall district morale. Continuing to advocate for changes while maintaining a positive supportive culture will help keep quality staff in our district.
• Student Safety - School safety must always come first. Parents send their kids to school expecting a safe, disciplined environment where learning, not chaos comes first. As a school board member, my responsibility is to support strong security measures, clear accountability, and common-sense policies that protect students, teachers, and staff. Safe schools create strong schools, and strong schools build strong communities.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Strengthening collaboration with the state legislature. One of the biggest things I will continue to advocate for is a legislative agenda. I have been given the opportunity to lead the legislative committee since inception, creating a legislative agenda has helped New Hanover County lead the way and has successfully brought back millions of increased funding for the district, including SparkNC Lab, funding for advanced teacher roles, expansion of CLDA program for all 7th graders, and various remediation supports.As an elected official it is imperative we collaborate with all entities in the decision making processes for educational change.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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