WS/FCS at-large primary outcome unchanged after recount

88.5 WFDD - Public Radio For The Piedmont | By Amy Diaz

Published March 19, 2026 at 3:37 PM EDT

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Education building

At-large Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board candidate Linda Winikoff requested a recount after the Democratic primary election.

Winikoff had been about 100 votes behind Elisabeth Motsinger, a less than 1% margin.

But the results didn’t change after Forsyth County Board of Elections officials conducted a recount Wednesday night. Motsinger will advance to the general election, along with Ronda Mays and Valerie Brockenbrough.

In a statement on social media, Winikoff thanked the board of elections officials for their work and congratulated the candidates moving forward.

She said she’ll also continue to advocate for the school system as a community member.

Amy Diaz

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

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