RALEIGH - In a bizarre election-night turn, Stan Morse won the Democratic primary for state House District 40 despite endorsing, campaigning for and voting for his opponent.

A recruiter and consultant to the printing industry, Morse took 54.2 percent of the vote to Sam Hart Brewer's 45.8 percent. This happened despite Morse submitting a concession speech a day before the election and spending Tuesday outside a Raleigh polling place encouraging voters to pick Brewer.

"My goal remains to replace the one-term incumbent with a representative who will work for all the people," Morse said Tuesday night, reading a statement.

Meanwhile, Josh Stein and Vernon Malone each won their state Senate districts by wide margins.

In District 16, Raleigh attorney Stein sailed to easy victory Tuesday in the hard-fought Democratic primary race.

He took 48.6 percent of the vote over fellow lawyer Jack Nichols, who finished with 40.1 percent with all precincts reporting.

"The reason why I'm leading is we have more than 100 [volunteers] who care about making sure Wake County remains a great place to live, who care about whether we have great schools and who care about whether we have affordable health care," Stein said.

In a second Wake County race, Malone recaptured the Democratic nomination in Senate District 14, where he has served three terms.

He topped out challenger Ann Akland, taking 72.6 percent of the vote to her 27.4 percent.

"That's exciting," Malone said. "I've tried to be a fair, impartial leader. Nobody owns me. I'm very independent but very caring."

Akland remained upbeat Tuesday, saying her opponent benefited from the money and endorsements of office.

"It's really hard for someone to take on a long-standing incumbent," she said.

In Morse's House race, he can either accept or decline the nomination. He said he wouldn't make a snap decision. State Rep. Marilyn Avila, a Republican, will face the winner in November.

There are precedents for candidates winning after declaring themselves out of the race, said Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections. If the accidental winner drops out, the political party from that district picks a replacement.

But that isn't usually the case.

"They have a change of heart," Bartlett said.

Brewer, though, said he and Morse would sort out "just how bizarre it is."

"We're both committed to putting together a strong campaign," he said, "whoever it's going to be."

Both state Senate races featured tussles between candidates in heavily-Democratic Wake County districts, with Republicans sitting out the primary until November's contest.

In District 16, Nichols and Stein sought to replace outgoing Sen. Janet Cowell, who won her bid for state treasurer Tuesday night.

Stein and Nichols, who both blanketed their district with mailings and yard signs, stressed higher teacher pay and strategies for population growth that protect Wake County's schools and environment.

Mike Shea, a retired assistant professor and track coach at N.C. State University, ran mostly with the idea of helping inmates just out of prison. He took 11.2 percent of the primary vote.

Stein, who directs the consumer protection division of the state Attorney General's office, will face Republican John M. Alexander Jr. in the November election.

The race in District 14 pitted veteran Wake County politician Malone, a retired educator, against Akland, who retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and founded a nonprofit for patients with severe mental illness.

Akland made mental health reform her priority, while Malone focused on better jobs and transportation as the economy sours.

"There's a lot of work to be done," Malone said. "The economy is, as I've always indicated, is high on my list. We've really got to work to have a highly-skilled, highly-trained work force."

Malone will oppose Carol Bennett in the general election.

Morse had sent The News & Observer a concession speech on Monday afternoon in which he announced plans to celebrate Brewer's victory with great joy and plenty of beer.

"I voted for Sam, and now it looks like so did my wife!" he wrote. "That's OK. Had I won I would have demanded a recount!"

Tuesday night, when he heard the news, he was incredulous.

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