Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - Encompassing upper Cleveland County and parts of Gaston County, Cherryville area residents find themselves in NC House District 110. This election cycle, people in this district have a choice between Kelly Hastings, the 15-year incumbent chair, and Caroline Eason, a candidate seeking to become a freshman politician. Each candidate is running for the Republican seat and must be voted on during the March 3rd, 2026, primaries, or earlier by early voting or mail-in ballot.
Both candidates are born and raised locals to the area. Hastings grew up in Cleveland County, graduating from Shelby High School before "marrying a Cherryville girl" and finding himself here. Eason also grew up in Cleveland County, earning her high school diploma from Burns High School. Each is a familiar face around Cherryville, with Hastings being a known politician and Eason a longtime face at TAS Drug, a local pharmacy.
Hastings is a veteran of the United States Marines and completed his degree at Appalachian State University. Upon returning home, he took an interest in politics when he wanted to keep using the driveway for his family's business. During the driveway process, he learned how important the government is in issues such as this. Eason discovered her own interest in politics during AP Government, under a well-known teacher, Tom Centofanti. She then earned a degree at UNC-Chapel Hill before returning home to help take over the family pharmacy.
Those who follow local politics closely may already know that Hastings planned to give up his seat this election cycle. Hastings stated that he reached out to around eight individuals, offering them his position this cycle. However, when the deadlines grew too close for comfort and no one was currently vying for his spot, Hastings was asked to run again.
Eason was one of the individuals Hastings recommended to succeed him. Her reason for wanting to run ties back to her family roots in the pharmaceutical industry. She saw her grandfather helping the community and was inspired by this. Wishing to take it a step further, Eason hopes to add public service to her life, while still helping run the pharmacy to continue helping others in that way.
Each candidate was asked which issues they personally receive the most questions on. For Eason, this is the current tax rate. Eason noted that the state has done a great job lowering income taxes, but property taxes are still causing people to struggle. If elected, Eason hopes to reduce and potentially eliminate this, looking to models like those currently being implemented in Florida. This could take the form of raising sales taxes to compensate, meaning bigger spenders will carry a larger share of the tax burden, while making home ownership cheaper. Eason considers it essential that we carefully evaluate what is needed, so shoppers stay within North Carolina instead of going to our bordering states.
Hastings responded with a few concerns, including the tax rates, transportation, employment opportunities, and education. One of Hastings' main focuses in these areas is transportation, for which he previously held the chair. He supports a data-driven approach to determining what roads and infrastructure improvements should take precedence. Currently, each project is given a fiscal constraint, meaning it ties up funds that could be used elsewhere if it were not on this list. This leads to a more selective process, in which items on the list must be carefully considered. Hastings also mentioned we are getting ready to see two bridges built, one over the South Fork River and another over the Catawba River, as well as the upcoming widening of I-85.
Eason, when asked about the state of education in District 110, went on to discuss the numbers on teacher pay and rankings. She believes that Gaston County teachers receive a supplement of $4082, and Cleveland County teachers receive $5964. This is compared to their neighbor, Mecklenburg County, which nears $ 10,000 in teacher supplements. Eason thinks that if we could make teaching within the district more financially attractive, we'd see more locals choose to stay and teach at home.
We also asked each candidate about their opinion on public, private, and charter schools. Eason responded that she believes in the right to school choice and that each parent should choose what they think will provide the best education for their child. However, she also mentioned that while this is an option in the Gaston County portion of the district, Cleveland County lacks a choice of charter and private institutions.
Hastings, speaking on education, looked at what has been done during his time in office. When he entered, teachers were being furloughed, and while small raises were being given, they were accompanied by higher taxes. This has since changed: raises are given yearly alongside lower taxes, and teachers are no longer being furloughed either. Adding to this, he spoke on how over half of the state budget of over 30 billion currently goes to education. He also noted that many people forget that the education budget also helps fund community colleges and universities.
Hastings says he has researched charter schools and that they are public, but given more flexibility in exchange for receiving less state funding. He mentions this because teachers can still participate in a state retirement plan at charter schools. Regarding private schools, he mentioned Opportunity Scholarships, which help students attend private schools if they choose to do so.
Each candidate had plenty more to say, and you can see the full interview and opinions on topics such as Gaston County being the only county in NC with a police force, and on why the district contains the areas it does. Remember that the Republican candidate decision will be made on March 3rd. Early voting starts on February 12th and runs through the 28th. The mail-in (absentee) ballot request deadline is February 17th. Mail-in ballots started going out to voters on January 12th.
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