SHAWN ROCCO - srocco@newsobserver.com
Jason Schrader casts his ballot at Daniels Middle School in Raleigh this morning.
RALEIGH -- Today's Democratic Senate primary is expected to be a cliffhanger - a low turnout, a huge bloc of undecided voters and a lack of any marquee candidates add up to an especially volatile election.
The prize is the Democratic nomination for the right to challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who faces only token opposition in his own primary.
To clinch the nomination, a Democrat must win 40 percent of the vote. Failure to do so will result in a runoff June 22 between the top two vote-getters - meaning seven more weeks of campaigning.
Because of low interest from voters and the media, the Democratic candidates dispensed Monday with the traditional campaign swing through all the major cities. Instead they campaigned mainly in and around their campaign headquarters, calling supporters and touring courthouses or local businesses.
Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said she was hoping for a strong finish that would put her over 40 percent.
"We are feeling very good that there will not be a runoff," Marshall said in an interview at her Raleigh campaign headquarters.
"I hope that the citizens would realize that it [the runoff] is seven weeks away, not the usual month. A lot of resources would be consumed."
She said though there were predictions of a turnout as low as 20 percent, voter participation would likely be far worse if there was a runoff when school is out and many people are on vacation.
Having just completed a statewide tour, Cunningham spent the day at his Lexington headquarters, calling supporters.
"We are the new campaign," Cunningham said in a telephone interview. "We are connecting. We are getting through on the message of jobs, and we are connecting on who is best to take on Richard Burr."
Cunningham's campaign released several new endorsements, including Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and the Rev .George Battle, bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.
Chapel Hill lawyer Ken Lewis spent the day at his Durham campaign headquarters, where he and his family were calling supporters around the state.
"I think we are peaking at the right moment," Lewis said. "There are lots of undecided voters. There are lots of folks who are just tuning in to this election."
Poll results
A new survey conducted Saturday and Sunday by Public Policy Polling found Marshall leading Cunningham by a 28 percent-to-21-percent margin, and Lewis trailing at 9 percent. Marcus Williams received 4 percent, Ann Worthy received 3 percent and Susan Harris, 2 percent.
The Raleigh-based firm interviewed 803 likely Democratic voters. The survey had a margin of error of 3.5 percent.
But the primary is still highly fluid, and 33 percent of those polled are still undecided. Polls in low-turnout primaries are particularly unreliable because of the difficulty of measuring who will actually show up to vote.
Campaigns have estimated that between 500,000 and 750,000 of the 2.7 million registered Democratic voters are likely to participate in the primary.
The early-voting period that ended Saturday confirmed predictions of a low turnout. In the early-voting period, 178,393 people cast their ballots, 51 percent of whom were Democrats, 33 percent were Republicans, and 17 percent unaffiliated, according to State Board of Elections records.
There were 112,000 early votes cast in the Democratic primary. Those early voters tended to be both older and whiter than typical primary voters. About 28 percent of the voters were African-American, and 77 percent were older than 50.
There is also a Republican primary, but polls suggest it is not competitive. Burr is being challenged by Larry Linney of Charlotte, Brad Jones of Lake Toxaway, and Eddie Burks of Asheboro.
The polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. today.
