District 41 Senate candidates, from left: Copeland, Tarte, Stafford, Aneralla, Benton

Five candidates all pushing for lower taxes and more business friendly policies are facing off in the Republican primary for the 41st District state Senate seat, a new district covering Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, Matthews Mint Hill and parts of southeast Charlotte. The May 8 primary will double as the deciding vote: No Democrats or independents have registered to run in the district, which means the winner of the primary will become the area’s new state senator.

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Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte, one of five Republicans running for the open N.C. Senate District 41 seat, on Tuesday announced transportation priorities he plans to focus on during his campaign, including widening I-77, finishing I-485, capping the gas tax and reforming transportation spending.

“It’s time to send someone to Raleigh who understands the importance of conservative spending principles on transportation,” he said in a press release.

Also in the release, he identified supporters of his transportation campaign, including Huntersville, Davidson, Matthews and Mooresville mayors and other state and local leaders.

Here’s the press release he issued Tuesday: Read the full story

Updated March 2, 2012, 2 p.m.

Don Copeland, one of three new candidates to file for the 41st state Senate district seat.

Five Republican candidates are vying for the District 41 state Senate seat, which represents Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, Matthews Mint Hill and parts of Southeast Charlotte. In the final two days of filing this week, Donald Copeland, Troy Stafford and Robby Benton joined Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte and Huntersville business owner John Aneralla in the race. Read the full story

Aneralla

John Aneralla, a Huntersville business owner and former Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party, on Monday filed to run for the District 41 seat on the N.C. State Senate. The district includes the towns of Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, Matthews and Mint Hill as well as parts of east and southeast Charlotte.

Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte will challenge Mr. Aneralla for the seat, and plans to file Wednesday after a campaign kickoff event, he said.  Read the full story

Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte has picked up a couple of endorsements from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board members, he announced Friday. Current At-Large member and former District 6 representative Tim Morgan and District 1 representative Rhonda Lennon, both registered republicans, cited Mayor Tarte’s conservative values and civic involvement as reasons for their support.

Meanwhile, Mayor Tarte is planning a Feb. 15 campaign kickoff event at 10 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial Monument. Election filing opens Feb. 13. Read the full story