Tuesday night’s election determined the nominees for races up and down the ballot in the November general election. But one nomination remains undecided.
No candidate received at least 30 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, leaving open the possibility of a runoff.
Patrick Gannon, public information officer for the North Carolina State Board of Elections, explained the rules for a runoff primary in North Carolina in an email on Friday.
“The candidate who receives the second-highest vote total in a primary contest may demand a second primary if no candidate receives more than 30 percent of the votes cast for all candidates in that contest,” Gannon said. “The top two vote-getters would be on the ballot for the second primary.”
According to unofficial results, N.C. Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley (D-Wake) received 26.57 percent of the vote, N.C. Sen. Terry Van Duyn (D-Buncombe) had 20.44 percent and Hoke County Commissioner Allen Thomas and N.C. Rep. Chaz Beasley (D-Mecklenburg) each had 18.86 percent.
Bill Toole and Ron Newton both had less than 10 percent of the vote.
Although the presidential primary stole much of the spotlight away from down-ballot races, some voters, like Heather McKay of Hillsborough, said state-level primaries were a motivator to come to the polls.
McKay said she was supporting Van Duyn.
“One person can’t do it by themselves,” she said. “To me, it’s about strategically filling those seats who will vote together as a party and support, hopefully an executive who agrees with me.”
