Fitzsimon File

Don't go to bed early Tuesday night even if you know who won the gubernatorial primary in both parties and how the battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton turned out. There are contested primaries in many Council of State races, including the campaigns for lieutenant governor, state treasurer, labor commissioner, auditor, and insurance commissioner.

Those are important offices and the candidates running for them haven't received nearly enough attention, but most have received some.  Even if all those races are decided, you still won't know all you need to about election results vitally important to the future of North Carolina unless you check out the state legislative races.  

You can make the argument that the General Assembly has more effect on the future of North Carolina than any other part of government. Lawmakers adopt a budget that spends $20 billion of public money in the state's General Fund, allocate another $4 billion on transportation, and debate policies that affect public schools and higher education, public safety, health care, housing, taxation, etc.

All of the combined 170 seats in the House and Senate are up for election every two years and though many incumbents are unopposed and many more face no primary opposition Tuesday, there are several races to watch, incumbents facing challenges from candidates within their party and a few hotly contested open seats.

Charlotte has two of the more interesting primaries. Six-term incumbent Democrat Drew Saunders, a close ally of former House Speaker Jim Black, faces a stiff challenge from Nick Mackey, who won a special election for Sheriff earlier this year that was later overturned.

Incumbent Democrat Tricia Cotham was appointed to replace Jim Black, who resigned from the House before pleading guilty to corruption charges and beginning a federal prison term. Cotham is now running for a full term in the House and faces a primary challenge from former Mecklenburg County Commissioner Lloyd Scher, who also sought the appointment to the seat when Black resigned.

First term Republican House member Joe Boylan from Moore County defeated former House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan in 2006 and now faces a primary of his own, with two Republican challengers running against him. Boylan was charged with a DWI last month in a single-car accident.

Sixteen House incumbents are in contested primaries. Nine House seats are open, though former Rep. Jonathan Rhyne from Lincoln County is the only candidate running to replace former House Minority Leader Joe Kiser who is not seeking another term.

Several Senate incumbents are facing spirited primary opposition too, including 11-term Republican Austin Allran from Catawba County who is trying to fend off a challenge by Kitty Barnes, the Chair of the Catawba County Commissioners.

Democrat Clark Jenkins from Edgecombe County has two primary opponents. One of them is former legislator Shelley Willingham, who is trying to unseat Jenkins for the third time in a district that has a majority of African-American voters.  Willingham is African-American and some pundits believe that Obama's candidacy may boost turnout enough to make this a close race.

Republican Senator Harris Blake's opposition in Moore County has drawn attention to his primary race. One of his two opponents is Cindy Morgan, wife of the former Co-House Speaker.

Wake County Democratic Senator Vernon Malone is being challenged in the primary by longtime mental health activist Ann Ackland. Two other veteran Senate Democrats, David Weinstein from Robeson County and Bill Purcell from Scotland County, also face tougher than expected primary opposition.

There are six open Senate seats, five of them vacant because the incumbent is running for higher office. Democrats Josh Stein and Jack Nichols are battling in a spirited primary in Wake County in the district currently represented by Janet Cowell, who is running for state treasurer.

Six Democrats are vying in a Senate primary in Eastern North Carolina in the district of Senator John Kerr from Wayne County, who is not seeking reelection. The winner faces Republican Louis Pate, a current member of the House.

That is hardly an exhaustive list of interesting legislative races and there are always a few contests that are much closer than expected, though in past years they have come in the November election, not the May primary.

But this is an unusual election year in North Carolina by any measurement, so all bets are off Tuesday night. Don't go to bed too early. The General Assembly may be changing.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 1:12 pm and is filed under Fitzsimon File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.