Cabarrus County Commissioners Chairman Chris Measmer will take former Sen. Paul Newton’s seat, once Gov. Josh Stein formalizes the choice made by the county GOP.
He wasn’t the favored choice of Newton, a former senior Duke Energy state president who has been among the most influential state senators in recent years.
The Concord Independent Tribune and the North State Journal first reported the news Tuesday.
Measmer emerged as the pick from a four-hour closed session among members of the Cabarrus party. The meeting included interviews with candidates.
Newton is leaving the Senate to become general counsel at UNC Chapel Hill. In his departing comments to his Senate colleagues on March 26, Newton indicated that he’d recommended a woman to fill out his term.
“If they see fit to honor that recommendation, I promise you I am going to help provide you with a colleague you can be proud of,” Newton said in his valedictory to the chamber. “She’ll be a great colleague and I think you’ll enjoy her here in the Senate. Which is important; you want to enjoy the people you’re working with.”
Newton didn’t identify who he had in mind.
But the Independent Tribune reported that the Harrisburg Mayor Jennifer Teague was among the seven people who had applied to the party for consideration.
Measmer, a county commissioner for seven years, expressed opposition last year to the county’s purchase of the former ACN corporate headquarters in Concord. The county received state approval to borrow $85 million for the project, which included $42 million for the acquisition, $20 million for renovations and $23 million for a new behavioral health facility on site, according to the Independent Tribune.
Measmer became commissioners chair after Pittman and another ally joined the board, They joined forces in January to fire longtime County Manager Mike Downs and County Attorney Richard Koch. Downs is suing the county over his ouster, contending the commissioner reneged on the severance-payment clauses in his contract.
Measmer is part of a family that has lived in the county since the early 1800s. He is a George Washington University graduate who has served on many county boards.
Cabarrus GOP chair Lanny Lancaster says Measmer “has been a champion for the taxpayers” and “has never shied away from tackling challenging issues.”
Cabarrus party Vice Chair Jim Quick said via a news release that “two former state representatives” were part of the field seeking the Senate seat. One was former Rep. Kevin Crutchfield, who the Independent Tribune reported had confirmed his interest in the appointment.
Crutchfield was ousted in last year’s GOP primary by Brian Echevarria, who then won the general election. WBTV reported in December that Crutchfield later sought a job in Gov. Josh Stein’s administration.
Other recent former state legislators from the county include former Rep. Larry Pittman, now a county commissioner and a Measmer ally, and former Rep. Kristin Baker, who didn’t seek re-election to the House in 2024.
Quick said the rest of the field included “a former chief district court judge, a mayor, a town council member, a chief financial officer, a former congressional candidate, a community organizer and a county commissioner.”
The Independent Tribune said former District Judge Billy Hamby was among the applicants. He ran against Baker in the 2020 GOP primary for the District 82 House seat.
Stein has to formally appoint Measmer to the Senate seat, but state law allows the party to make the choice
