NC Primary Results

NC Legislative Primary Results Have Mixed Results for Construction: Tuesday's primary races brought good and bad news for the construction industry, with Rep. Bruce Goforth, D-Buncombe, being defeated and Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe, winning a hard-fought race. Both incumbents, who Carolinas AGC supported with PAC contributions, are strong supporters of the construction industry.

In addition, in another closely watched race, Tommy Tucker, who owns a construction business in Monroe, defeated former state Sen. Fern Shubert in a Republican primary to replace retiring Sen. Eddie Goodall. Tucker, who CAGC also supported with its NC Construction Industry PAC, does have opposition in the November election.

In other races for the NC, General Assembly, Rep. Nick Mackey, D-Mecklenburg, who this week had his law license suspended, was among a handful of legislative incumbents who lost primary races. Other incumbents to lose primary contests included Reps. Earl Jones, D-Guilford, and Pearl Burris-Floyd, R-Gaston, according to unofficial returns from the State Board of Elections. Rep. Ronnie Sutton, D-Robeson, also appeared to lose his seat in a close race.

Meantime, incumbent Democratic Rep. Beverly Earle beat Rocky Bailey 81 to 19 percent in House District 101; Rep. Becky Carney, also a Democratic incumbent, defeated Kim Ratliff and Ken Davies, taking 62 percent in the House District 102 primary; and incumbent Democratic Sen. Malcolm Graham beat John Montgomery by a 75-to-25 percent margin, according to unofficial returns.

Farther west, Goforth also lost by 20 points in House District 115. Former Buncombe County Commissioner Patsy Keever beat Goforth in race where the two sparred over mountain development and steep slopes restrictions, with Keever pushing for more comprehensive development rules. "We got pretty well whipped," Goforth told the Asheville Citizen-Times.

In the GOP primary for House District 110, Burris-Floyd was defeated by Kelly Hastings 53 to 47 percent. In the Democratic primary for House District 47, Sutton trailed his primary opponent, Charles Graham, 51 to 49 percent. Other winners in House primaries included Rep. Rosa Gill, D-Wake, who defeated Bernard Allen; Rep. Winkie Wilkins, D-Person, who won easily in a race that many observers predicted would be close; and Republican Phillip Shepard, whose primary win in House District 15 means that he will replace retiring Rep. Robert Grady.

In Senate primaries, Sen. Jenkins won a tough race over Frankie Bordeaux, incumbent Republican Harris Blake easily defeated former House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan, according to news reports and unofficial state election tallies.

U.S. Senate Picture: Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and former state Sen. Cal Cunningham are destined for a runoff in the race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate after neither was able to dominate a crowded primary election Tuesday. Marshall, who has held her current post for more than a decade, led with 36 percent in unofficial returns.

Cunningham, an Army veteran who drew the support of the party's Washington establishment, trailed by 9 percentage points. Chapel Hill attorney Ken Lewis was in third with 17 percent. The three other Democrats in the race -- attorney Marcus Williams, teacher Ann Worthy and Susan Harris — did not gain more than single-digit support. The winner of the runoff next month will face Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a strong supporter of construction and business, who easily defeated his three challengers. "I am honored to have received my party's nomination," Burr said in a statement. "However, this is just the beginning and it will be a long road to November."

U.S. House Primaries: No challenger defeated the state's seven U.S. House members in primary races Tuesday, according to unofficial election results. Longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Howard Coble withstood his first primary challenge since he joined Congress in 1984, taking 64 percent of the vote in the race and defeating five opponents seeking his 6th District seat.

First-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell defeated Nancy Shakir, winning more than 60 percent of the vote. And Democratic Reps. G.K. Butterfield in the 1st District and Health Shuler in the 11th won handily, according to unofficial results. Butterfield defeated Chad Larkins of Macon; Shuler defeated Aixa Wilson of Asheville. Unofficial results also showed that GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry won his 10th District seat, beating three other Republican opponents, while GOP U.S. Reps. Walter Jones in the 3rd District and Virginia Foxx in the 5th also easily won their primary races. There was at least one primary in 12 of 13 U.S. House districts in North Carolina, with the GOP holding contests for 12 of the seats. U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick was the sole Republican incumbent who avoided a primary.

Court of Appeals: Two incumbents seeking additional terms on the state Court of Appeals will move to the November election by finishing in the top two in their respective races. Judge Rick Elmore finished second Tuesday to state Supreme Court law clerk Steven Walker in one race. Judge Ann Marie Calabria finished first in the other race and Wake District Court Judge Jane Gray came in second.