Newark resident and State Central Committeewoman Carrie Masterson, 59, will proceed to the Nov. 4 general election, according to preliminary results from the Licking County Board of Elections.
In the May 6 primary/special election, Masterson defeated her opponent Gary Burkholder with 58.49% of votes – 6,373 voters – while Burkholder earned 41.51% of votes – 4,522 voters.
On the night of the May 6 election, Masterson was spending time with a group of Republican campaign associates, including Licking County Republican Party Chairman Matt Dole at the DoubleTree in Newark.
“I think the results are pretty strong,” Masterson said. “And I think it speaks to my strength as a candidate, and it’s given me the momentum I need to go into this general [election].”
Masterson was pleased with the results, and found the contested race exciting. She looks forward to the November general election. For campaigning, she used social media, radio advertisements and mailers. Her favorite part of the campaign was canvassing; the direct interactions she had with voters.
“I believe everything I did left a strong footprint throughout the county,” she said. “I had some strong endorsements that I really appreciate receiving.”
Masterson holds an associate’s degree in court reporting from Plaza College, formerly Bliss Business College, in Columbus, and has served as district director for the Ohio Court Reporters Association, and as the Ohio Republican State Central Committeewoman for District 20, covering Licking, Fairfield and Perry counties.
Masterson began as a legal secretary for then-attorney Tom Marcelain, who has now served as judge of the Licking County Common Pleas Court for 22 years, and served before that for 13 years as judge of the Licking County Municipal Court.
Masterson then accepted a position to work with Judge Marcelain as he served as the Licking County Municipal Court judge before he moved to the Common Pleas Court in 2003. She then moved over to the Licking County Common Pleas Court as a court reporter for Judge Gregory Frost.
Burkholder, on the other hand, discovered the result as he was collecting “Elect Burkholder” signs from all over Licking County. The night of the election, he chose to stay home, as is his tradition. He cited Theodore Roosevelt’s speech “The Man in the Arena” as something he thinks about after this defeat.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,” Roosevelt said.
This campaign, Burkholder said he has been the target of negativity and personal attacks. He is confident that they didn’t waver his attitude.
“I empathize [with] and encourage many candidates at the local level who are afraid to run,” he said. “I’ve never been afraid to take on those challenges, regardless of the result. You are always disappointed when you lose, but it’s more back to Teddy Roosevelt.”
Burkholder, who currently serves as a township trustee in Etna, holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in sociology from Bowling Green State University.
As November approaches, both Masterson and Burkholder have plans ahead.
Masterson’s victory in the primary means she will have to prepare a campaign in the general election, and she will be campaigning for the next six months, though she looks forward to facing Democrat James M. Dawson in the general.
“I‘m not really sure what to think of him as an opponent,” she said. “I feel I will have a good, strong race against him, but I don’t know what to expect.”
She cites her relationships with the Municipal Court judges, Matthew George and David Stansbury, and her ability to be a “team player,” as the reasons why she is a strong candidate.
Burkholder will support her running platform in November.
“There was a considerable amount of support for Carrie,” he said. “She’s a State Central Committeewoman, and she’ll have my full support. We want to have her victorious in the fall.”
Despite Burkholder’s defeat, he, too, has plans on the horizon.
“There are a tremendous amount of challenges here in [Etna] township,” he said. “And the fact is, I am actually re-energized working with our new township administrator, Bill Spurgen.”
Despite having no plans to run for judicial office in the near future, Burkholder is determined to incorporate the justice system into his trustee position at Etna Township.
“One thing I think is very important here in [Licking] County is this development on the H.O.M.E. Court, and how we divert people that have this outdoor camping violation,” he said.
As a township trustee, Burkholder expresses his interest in working with the unhoused to create solutions in the near future.
Owen Baker writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.