The Guilford County Republican Party has found its replacement for Tony Jacobelli, and the new candidate says he’s ready to put his own money and a lot of his time into an unexpectedly short campaign for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.

The Guilford County Republican Party Executive Committee voted Thursday, Aug. 20, to name Michael Perdue as the party’s nominee for the at-large seat on the Board of Commissioners.

He’ll face Democratic nominee Greg Drumwright in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election.

Guilford County Republican Party Chairman Chris Meadows notified Guilford County Board of Elections Executive Director Charlie Collicutt of the decision in a letter Thursday night.

“The Executive Committee of the Guilford County Republican Party met on August 20, 2026, for the purpose of electing a nominee to replace Tony Jacobelli who withdrew from the Guilford County Commissioner At-Large race,” Meadows wrote. “The Executive Committee elected Michael Perdue to be the Republican nominee for the Guilford County Commissioner At-Large race in November 2026.”

Perdue said Thursday night that the committee’s vote was unanimous.

He also said becoming a candidate happened very quickly.

“It’s a very humbling, actually, to be honest with you, a little shocking, but very humbling that they asked me to jump into the race,” Perdue said.

Jacobelli, who had been the Republican nominee for the at-large seat, submitted a written withdrawal dated Monday, Aug. 17, that was received by the Guilford County Board of Elections Tuesday, Aug. 18.

Jacobelli said in that letter that personal circumstances prevented him from adequately campaigning and that remaining in the race would be a disservice to Guilford County voters.

Perdue, 61, is a lifelong Guilford County resident who grew up near the Greensboro Coliseum and has spent 32 years working for the Coliseum as director of facilities.

In that position, Perdue said, he’s managed major construction projects on behalf of the city, including work associated with the Greensboro Aquatic Center and the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts.

Perdue said he is currently managing about $20 million in bond-funded projects for the Coliseum and has also been asked to manage projects funded by $30 million from the state.

He’s also a licensed unlimited electrical contractor and has been involved in the electrical contracting business for about 35 years.

That background, Perdue said, would be useful on a Board of Commissioners that routinely approves multimillion-dollar construction contracts.

Perdue has also become increasingly vocal about property taxes in Guilford County and he said taxes and county spending will be at the center of his campaign.

He has spoken at meetings and helped organize opposition to higher property taxes, and said he had previously considered running for commissioner as a write-in candidate.

Perdue said he abandoned that idea because he didn’t believe a write-in candidate had a realistic chance of winning.

Things changed abruptly last week.

Perdue said he had been invited to speak to Conservative Connections in Oak Ridge about property taxes. After the meeting, he said, people began contacting him about whether he would be willing to run if the Republican nomination became available.

When the party approached him after Jacobelli withdrew, Perdue said he agreed on several conditions, including that his name actually appear on the ballot and that the Republican Party get behind an aggressive campaign.

“If we’re gonna do it, we’ve got to do it right,” Perdue said.

Perdue said Thursday night that he intends to contribute the first $10,000 to his own campaign and believes other supporters will contribute enough to allow him to mount a serious countywide effort.

He acknowledged that winning the at-large seat as a Republican in Guilford County won’t be easy, but said he believes Republicans can win county races this year if they get their message to voters.

Much of Perdue’s message will focus on the county budget.

He said he recognizes that county government has numerous state-mandated responsibilities and that those services have to be paid for.

However, he said, commissioners need to examine not only whether a service is required but how much the county is spending to provide it.

“I totally get that,” Perdue said of the need to fund county government. “But at what levels and where are we wasting money at?”

Perdue was particularly critical of county funding for nonprofit organizations.

He said people who believe strongly in the work of particular nonprofit organizations should support those organizations themselves rather than require all county taxpayers to support them.

“Your tax money should be used for the essential business of county government,” Perdue said.

Perdue said he wants the county to take a much deeper look at spending throughout the budget – including spending on the Sheriff’s Office, the jails and Guilford County Schools.

He said his concern about taxes isn’t theoretical because increases that may seem small to some taxpayers can have a serious effect on people living on fixed incomes or families already struggling to pay their bills.

“The taxpayers can only stand so much,” Perdue said.

If elected, Perdue would join Republican Commissioners Pat Tillman and Alan Perdue on the nine-member board.

Despite the shared last name, Michael Perdue said he and Alan Perdue are only distant relatives. He said their fathers were distant cousins and that the two men didn’t grow up as part of the same close family circle.

Michael Perdue also said he doesn’t intend to approach the campaign primarily as a partisan fight.

He said he told Republican Executive Committee members Thursday night that he wouldn’t spend his time talking about Republicans versus Democrats, men versus women, or black versus white.

Instead, he said he wants to focus on county taxes and spending because those affect everyone.

“I think I’m the guy that has a pretty good relationship and have been working well with people no matter what their party is,” Perdue said.

That could become important if Perdue wins in November but Republicans remain in the minority on the Board of Commissioners.

Perdue said he has known Democratic Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston for about 30 years and believes he can work with commissioners of either party.

For years, Perdue said, his role in county government consisted largely of appearing at the commissioners’ podium and getting three minutes to make his case.

He said winning a seat on the other side of that podium would give him considerably more opportunity to do something about it.

“My voice for three minutes at the podium as speaking to the commission was only so valuable,” Perdue said. “However, if I’m one of the nine, I think I could be more effective.”

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