Carl Ford took the Republican nomination in North Carolina’s Senate District 33 in Tuesday’s primary.

New boundaries for the district were approved in February, settling it over Rowan and Stanly counties.

The vote showed obvious county loyalty for each candidate: Bill Sorenson in Stanly and Ford in Rowan.

In the end, Ford came out ahead with 60.6 percent of the vote between the two counties, or 8,388 votes total. Sorenson claimed 53.4 percent of the votes in Stanly County, but fell short of Ford in Rowan with only about 28 percent of the vote.

Ford, a Rowan County resident, brings with him years of experience in public office. He served on the Rowan County Department of Social Services board, the county Planning Board and the Rowan County Commission before moving to represent the 76th District in the state House.

He said he may not have originally planned to keep advancing up the political ladder but his forward motion had divine intervention.

“This may seem odd to some people, but any time I’ve entered a new office, it’s been God’s plan,” Ford said. “It’s like the doors just open up. I ran for House because the incumbent, Fred Stein, was running for Congress. Now redistricting put me in the same district as Larry Pittman, so I decided to run for Senate.”

Ford said his next steps will include continuing to work hard in the House for the next few months while campaigning.

“I’m going to hit the ground running,” said Ford.

Sorenson, a teacher from Stanly County, campaigned on the promise of education policy reform. He wanted to address financial shortcomings for educators, state employees and retirees.

He said Ford ran a great race and had a strong machine in Rowan County. Sorenson also said he himself needed a “better ground game” in his own county.

Sorenson doesn’t yet know if he plans to run again in two years.

“We’re not throwing our campaign signs away,” he said.

Currently, Ford will be matched on the November ballot against Democrat Geoffrey Hoy.

Hoy filed for candidacy as a place-holder for Arin Wilhelm of Granite Quarry, who was injured in an automobile accident on his way to file his candidacy.

Wilhelm has previously served on the Board of Aldermen in Granite Quarry.