CARY - Incumbent Jack Smith cruised to an easy victory over challenger Catherine Evangelista to claim his sixth term as the District C representative on the Cary Town Council.

With all precincts reporting, Smith had 65 percent of the vote. Evangelista had 34 percent.

Smith, who ran largely on a campaign of fiscal responsibility and protecting neighborhoods, said his message resonated with voters.

He stressed during his campaign the importance of finding common ground between developers and citizens to ensure that the right kind of growth comes to one of Cary's more established political districts.

"[Voters] feel like I'm listening to them and working on those issues," he said. "I feel like working hard and paying attention to the citizens paid off."

Evangelista, meanwhile, said she was proud of her campaign. She said she was pleased with early estimates of voter turnout, which showed she kept pace with her Democratic counterparts in other local races.She said that while her opponent made a strong showing, there could have been secondary reasons for his success. "The issue for anybody running against an incumbent is the standard problems you face," she said. "... I was fighting a stronger Republican turnout because of the school board race."

Meanwhile, in the at-large race, incumbent Julie Robison won handily. She ran virtually unopposed. Her would-be opponent, Philip Scarsella, remained on the ballot. But he officially ended his campaign in August due to health concerns.

Smith is a Republican. Robison is a democrat. Municipal elections in Cary are officially nonpartisan.