CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Turnout in Charlotte’s primary came close to doubling results from two years ago as voters cast ballots amid growing national attention around a fatal light-rail stabbing.

The fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on the Blue Line light rail Aug. 22 entered the national spotlight this weekend after video of the incident became public. The gruesome video sparked widespread debate over the weekend about the city’s management of public safety and mental health. Political figures, including President Donald Trump, seized on the tragedy to attack Democratic governance. And they issued explicit calls to oust incumbents.

The killing left many residents shaken, even as they went about the routine of casting ballots on Tuesday. Turnout was higher than usual, reaching 7.97% with 42,442 ballots cast, a jump from the 4.92% turnout in the city’s last municipal primary in 2023. The election largely reaffirmed the city’s current leadership but produced a couple of upsets in contested council districts.

The stabbing was front-of-mind for 36-year-old Anjuli Naraine, who said she was voting to see some fresh faces in city government. Naraine said she works uptown and the incident has left her concerned.

“I’m scared to go to the parking garages sometimes, if I work too late at night,” she said. “The light rail (incident) makes me think, is anything being done? I don’t see a lot of police presence in uptown at all.”

Karan Kachroo, 38, said he considered the light rail incident when he went to vote. Kachroo said he thinks the killing could have been prevented with better oversight.

“A lot of times when you do ride the light rail, they don’t really have many attendants coming to check your ticket, especially late at night,” Kachroo said. “I think there should be more supervision.”

Drew Ferguson, 32, said the stabbing was one of the issues he considered when heading to the polls Tuesday, in addition to LGBTQ+ rights and managing growth.

“That’s a very big issue that can’t be the norm here ... I’ve lived here for almost two years, and that has not seemed like the norm, so that was a little jarring to hear,” Ferguson said about the killing. “It was not in an area that I would have felt necessary to check behind me or be aware of my surroundings.”

Political reaction

Mayor Vi Lyles, who easily won her primary Tuesday evening and is favored in the general election, initially framed the attack as a failure of mental health systems and called for compassion.

She said the attacker “has long struggled with mental health and appears to have suffered a crisis.” Critics, including Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators, blasted the remarks as tone-deaf toward the victim and public safety.

In a statement after video footage circulated, Lyles shifted to a tougher stance where she faulted judicial gaps, pledged heightened transit security, and urged bipartisan reform of how repeat offenders with mental illness are managed.

Meanwhile, Trump ramped up his national law-and-order messaging, calling the stabbing “horrible” and “evil” during a speech Monday, framing Zarutska’s killing as a systemic failure and calling for the death penalty for her attacker on Wednesday.

A post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by the popular far-right page “Libs of TikTok” urged Charlotte residents to vote out Lyles for her initial statement about Brown. The post has nearly 3 million views and thousands of likes and retweets. The council at large received nationwide criticism as well for briefly pausing to celebrate members’ birthdays and eat cake during a City Council meeting where the stabbing was discussed.

But most Democratic incumbents emerged from their primaries with victories, including Council members Dante Anderson, Dimple Ajmera, LaWana Slack-Mayfield, James Mitchell Jr., Victoria Watlington and Renee Perkins Johnson. Only Districts 3 and 5 saw upsets, with Joi Mayo upsetting Tiawana Brown, and J.D. Arias narrowly edging out Marjorie Molina in a race that will see a recount.

Mayo, who beat Brown by 1,186 votes, said at a victory party Tuesday evening she understood why the stabbing had garnered so much attention nationwide, since it was a random act of violence between people who did not know each other. She said she will work with people who use and work at the light rail to determine the best ways to improve safety.

“I think this is a part of a larger issue that we’re really going to have to have conversations about,” Mayo said. “How are we supporting people with mental health issues? How are we being thoughtful of safety when it comes to our light rail system?”

Krista Bokhari, who won her Republican primary race in District 6, told The Charlotte Observer Wednesday morning that the stabbing was top of mind for many voters on Tuesday.

“I cannot tell you how many voters I talked to at the polls who are begging and pleading and praying that the independent, non affiliated voters in Charlotte wake up and start getting some balance on our council,” she said. “I’m happy that we are getting the spotlight. I am sad that Charlotte is in such a being portrayed in such a bad light, but it is time to make sure that the voters of Charlotte see what is actually happening in the city.”

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