SALISBURY — Rowan County Democrats intend to put forth a new candidate for state senator in the 33rd District.

At a meeting Saturday, the party plans to replace current candidate Geoffrey Hoy, who filed for the seat in February just minutes before the filing deadline.

Hoy, the chairman of Rowan’s Democratic Party, filed as a placeholder for Granite Quarry resident Arin Wilhelm. Wilhelm was in a serious car accident on his way to the Rowan County Board of Elections Office.

Hoy plans to withdraw from the race, and Wilhelm is expected to fill his place on the November ballot. He will face Republican state Rep. Carl Ford, who is running for the Senate seat.

The 10 a.m. meeting, held at Rowan’s Democratic Party headquarters, is part of what Hoy calls “the next step in the process.”

“When there’s a withdrawal, the state party chair appoints the chair of the district wherein the geography of the senatorial district is in to lead a meeting,” Hoy said.

The 33rd District, which includes all of Rowan and Stanly counties, falls within two of North Carolina’s congressional districts, the 13th and the 8th.

Because of this, state Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin selected Roger Cooper, chairman of the 13th District party, to lead Saturday’s formal process, which will be a vote of the Senatorial Executive Committees of both Rowan and Stanly counties.

In Rowan, the two-person committee includes Ken Stutts and Michelle Reed. In Stanly, members are Desi Shine and Sherrill Smith.

Each committee is assigned a specific percentage or weight to its votes based on “the percentage of the people in the county who cast votes for the Democratic governor in the last election,” Hoy said.

Because Rowan is the larger county, with about  140,000 residents versus Stanly’s 61,000, Rowan’s committee will be able to outvote Stanly’s in the event another candidate is presented.

But Hoy said the likelihood of any other name surfacing is “not very great.”

Once the four weighted votes are cast, the selected candidate’s name will be passed to state Chairman Goodwin, who will turn the name in to the North Carolina Board of Elections and Ethics.

That’s when Hoy’s name will be formally removed from the ballot and Wilhelm will be added.

The change could come just in time: The deadline to submit changes in wording for the November ballot is Aug. 8, Hoy said.

Wilhelm said, if chosen, he will continue a campaign focused on three critical issues in North Carolina and Rowan County: opioid addiction, education and environmental issues.

“I think one of the most important things that is going on right now is the opioid crisis and addressing that,” he said.

If elected, he said he’ll work toward preventative services and helping counties create quick-response teams to provide people who overdose with resources and education.

He also said he’d work to “increase teacher salaries to what they truly deserve” and address environmental issues.

“I’m truly, really excited to finally be starting my campaign,” said Wilhelm. “I enjoy serving the people, and I’m glad that I’m healthy enough to get back in the game even if it is late in the campaign.”