Charlotte's Democratic mayor faces backlash over train stabbing death as she seeks fifth term

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Democratic mayor secured a comfortable win in a primary election despite days of intense backlash following the deadly stabbing of a young Ukrainian woman on a commuter train in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mayor Vi Lyles is seeking a fifth term but is coming under criticism after images of the attack sparked widespread outrage from President Donald Trump to other Republicans and figures in the “Make America Great Again” movement. They say the killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska shows how Democrats are too soft on people with criminal records. Democrats who challenged her in the primary also said the mayor’s response has been insufficient.

The killing is fueling Trump’s tough-on-crime campaign as he seeks to take over law enforcement agencies in Democratic-led cities. It’s also given Trump and his allies a way to make an appeal to the American public as they indict measures spurred by Democrats to fight bias in police and courts, despite violent crime having decreased nationwide.

Trump has not specifically criticized the mayor, but said the victim’s “blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail.”

Despite the attack and its fallout, Lyles was still seen as the front-runner for reelection.

Four lesser-known Democratic candidates challenged Lyles in the primaries. One of them, Brendan Maginnis, mentioned the stabbing prominently in his Aug. 29 public safety plan, saying he would prevent similar tragedies on Charlotte’s light rail. Tigress Sydney Acute McDaniel said Lyles was a “day late and a dollar short.”

Lyles will take on Republican Terrie Donovan, a real estate agent who faced no primary opposition in the heavily Democratic city, in the November general election. She had already made crime her top issue even before the killing. Donovan released a statement on the case.

“This tragedy must serve as a wake up call for all of us to demand better from our elected officials,” Donovan said in a statement.

Charlotte’s politics shifted to the left over the past generation as North Carolina’s population surged, particularly in urban areas where affluent, out-of-state transplants taking high-tech jobs weren’t necessarily attracted to Republicans’ conservative agenda on social issues.

In the city, 42% of the voters are registered as Democrats, 17% are registered as Republicans. Almost 40% are unaffiliated, but are able to vote in Democratic or Republican primaries.

Lyles became mayor in 2017 after unseating incumbent Jennifer Roberts, a Democrat whose one two-year term was marked by battles such as the city’s handling of violence that erupted after a man’s shooting death by a police officer.

Lyles has never been seriously challenged since winning her first term, when she defeated her Republican rival with 59% of the vote. She won reelection in 2023 with 74% of the general election vote.

Lyles posted an open letter on social media late Monday, calling Zarutska’s death a “tragic failure by the courts and magistrates.”

“Our police officers arrest people only to have them quickly released, which undermines our ability to protect our community and ensure safety,” Lyles added.

“We need a bipartisan solution to address repeat offenders who do not face consequences for their actions and those who cannot get treatment for their mental illness and are allowed to be on the streets.”

___ Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.