NewsBreak! Articles > May 7, 2008

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

North Carolina

May 6 Primary Wrap-up: In a North Carolina primary that catapulted a man named Barack and a woman named Beverly to the top, the focus now turns to the Nov. 4 general election as the construction industry faces good and bad news.

Voters gave lopsided victories to Democrat Beverly Perdue and Republican Pat McCrory in gubernatorial primaries, while U.S. Sen. Barack Obama trounced U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary, 56 percent to 42 percent, with 99 percent of the state reporting.

Perdue, a two-term lieutenant governor, and McCrory, a longtime Charlotte mayor, will try to convince Tar Heel voters that each should succeed two-term Gov. Mike Easley. Perdue coasted by State Treasurer Richard Moore, 56 percent to 40 percent with 93 percent of precincts reporting, after a divisive campaign that featured several attack ads that tried to convince black voters that Perdue was less than supportive of civil rights. McCrory, mayor of Charlotte since 1995, took a hefty 9-percentage-point win over state Sen. Fred Smith, a Carolinas AGC member who heads up a Raleigh paving company.  McCrory won 46 percent of the vote, compared to 37 percent for Smith, 9 percent for Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham, 7 percent for former state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr and 1 percent for Sampson County farmer Elbie Powers.

Legislative Races Defeat Three Strong CAGC Supporters While Other Allies Win: Harris Blake won and Joe Boylan lost. Once again, Moore County was a lightening rod for contested legislative primaries, with Blake beating back Cindy Morgan, the wife of former House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan, to proceed with his bid to keep his District 22 Senate seat. Blake won the primary 59 to 41 percent, and will face Democrat Abraham Oudeh in November. Boylan, weeks after being cited for drunken driving, wasn't so lucky. He lost his House District 52 seat to Southern Pines funeral home operator Jamie Boles, finishing last in the three-candidate primary. Boles won 46 percent of the vote, with retired Army Lt. Col. Lane Toomey taking 28 percent and Boylan finishing with 25 percent.

In Fayetteville, nine-term Democrat Mary McAllister, a solid CAGC supporter, lost her House seat to Elmer Floyd, retired director of Fayetteville's Human Relations Department. Two other strong supporters of the construction industry, Reps. Drew Saunders and Karen Ray, also faced likely defeat. Ray, an Iredell County Republican, appeared to have lost to Mooresville lawyer Grey Mills by 114 votes. The margin was close enough for Ray to call for a recount in the District 95 race. Saunders, a six-term Democrat, lost to lawyer Nick Mackey in Mecklenburg County's District 99.

In the Wilmington district of imprisoned former Rep. Thomas Wright, Sandra Hughes, recently appointed to fill the seat for the upcoming legislative session, took 75 percent of the vote in a three-way Democratic primary. In Senate District 5, where Democrat Sen. John Kerr is retiring, Snow Hill Mayor Don Davis and state Board of Education member Kathy Taft appeared headed for a runoff. 

Other winners in Senate primaries included incumbent Democrat Clark Jenkins, a leading supporter of transportation and construction, in District 3 in Edgecombe, Martin and Pitt counties, incumbent Democrat David Weinstein, another strong CAGC supporter, in District 13 in Robeson and Hoke counties, Democrat Josh Stein in Sen. Janet Cowell's District 16 in Wake County, incumbent Republican Austin Allran, a construction industry advocate, in District 42 in Catawba County, and former Sen. Bob Rucho, another CAGC supporter, in the GOP primary for the District 39 seat being vacated by Robert Pittenger.

Winners in the House included incumbent Republicans George Cleveland in District 14 in Onslow County, Robert Grady in District 15 in Onslow County, Laura Wiley in District 61 in Guilford County, and Jeff Barnhart in District 82 in Cabarrus County, and incumbent Democrat Edith Warren in District 8 in Pitt County. All of those candidates were supported by CAGC's N.C. Construction Industry PAC.

Council of State: State Sen. Robert Pittenger clinched the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, while fellow Sen. Walter Dalton took the Democratic nomination for the state's No. 2 post as lieutenant governor. There was no such resolution in the Democratic race for labor commissioner, which appears headed for a runoff. Pittenger beat three Republicans hoping to win the state's No. 2 post.

In the Democratic race for labor commissioner, none of four candidates were able to claim more than 30 percent of the vote. Mary Fant Donnan -- a program officer for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem -- led with 28 percent of the vote. Former commissioner John Brooks, Ty Richardson and Robin Anderson all hovered around 24 percent. The top two will advance to a runoff June 24, assuming the second-place finisher requests one. The winner will face incumbent Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, a strong supporter of the construction industry.
In the superintendent for public instruction races, incumbent June Atkinson won the Democratic primary, while former state House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan won the GOP race. Other winners in Council of State Democratic primary races included: Wayne Goodwin for insurance commissioner, Beth Wood for auditor, and state Sen. Janet Cowell for treasurer.

U.S. House: GOP U.S. Rep. Walter Jones has survived a strong primary challenge from Joe McLaughlin. With 71 percent of precincts reporting unofficial returns, Jones had 60 percent of the vote in North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District. McLaughlin had 40 percent of the vote.

Unlikey Win: Despite endorsing his opponent and spending Tuesday campaigning for him, Stan Morse defeated Sam Hart Brewer in the Democratic primary for the 40th House District in Wake County. Morse, a consultant to the printing industry, took 54 percent of the vote to Brewer’s 46 percent. On Monday, Morse submitted a concession speech. On Tuesday, he stood outside a Raleigh polling place encouraging voters to pick Brewer. 

Complete Unofficial Primary Results: See attachment for details