North Myrtle Beach special election results: who will join city council?

North Myrtle Beach City Council will be full once again as Melissa Wober is set to take over the Crescent Beach Ward seat after a special election.

“Once I get in there, I just, I want to listen to the people, and I want to give them a chance to be able to speak about what their concerns are, because I’m actually their voice,” Wober said Tuesday night. “I’m speaking for them, so making decisions that they’re concerned about, and all the different parts of North Myrtle Beach, I think, is really important.”

Wober beat Ray Collins – her only opponent – with 1,176 votes of the total 2,211 provisional votes. She garnered roughly 53% of North Myrtle Beach voters, based on the preliminary results. Her city council tenure will be Wober’s first term in public office.

The city doesn’t typically hold February elections, but after J. Baldwin won his bid for mayor in November, the seat was left vacant.

A North Myrtle Beach native, Wober moved to North Carolina as a teenager and spent 17 years in Lumberton before returning to the Grand Strand in 2021. The self-described “numbers girl” is vice president and North Myrtle Beach executive at Coastal Carolina National Bank.

“I’m really interested in making sure that the tax dollars are spent correctly and that we’re budgeting correctly and making sure that people can see where their money goes,” Wober said. “That’s my main thing.”

Although she hasn’t held public office before, Wober is active in the community as president of the North Myrtle Beach Rotary Club and a member of the North Myrtle Beach Board of Zoning Appeals.

Heading into the special election, Wober hit on many of the key points echoed throughout the city’s 2025 races, like managing growth and developing infrastructure to improve roads and reduce flooding.

“One of the biggest things is just making sure that I’m preserving the character of the community … still having things to do for tourists when they come, but making sure that the residents are taken care of, first and foremost,” said Wober.

Other campaign points focused on city government with promises to address transparency, accountability and responsible spending.

Although the preliminary numbers are in, the special election results aren’t yet official. The North Myrtle Beach Municipal Election Commission will meet to certify the election results at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 26.

Once she’s sworn in, Wober’s term will last until November 2027.

This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 8:12 PM.