Libertarians make the mark to get on ballot

The Libertarian Party will be on the ballot in November.

State Board of Elections director Gary Bartlett said Thursday that he will sign a letter recognizing the group as a political party, making the fall election the eighth time the party has been on the North Carolina ballot.

The Libertarians turned in 72,935 verified signatures to the board May 15, slightly more than the 70,000 required by state law. Along with the Green Party, the Libertarian Party is suing the state in Wake County Superior Court over ballot access laws that require third parties to file a petition with 2 percent of the votes cast in the last governor's race.

The party said it spent four years and nearly $130,000 collecting the signatures.

At a convention in mid-April, it named professor Mike Mungervof Duke University its gubernatorial candidate, Mark McMains of Fuquay-Varina its insurance commissioner candidate and Thomas Hill of Concord its candidate for the congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes of Concord.

It also named a number of candidates in legislative races.

Communications director Brian Irving said there may be more.

"Now that we're back on the ballot, we're going to have to go through the process of finding people to run for office," he said.

No recount

There will not be a recount in the Democratic primary for state labor commissioner.

The State Board of Elections has refused to grant a ballot recount to the third- and fourth-place finishers in the primary.

The board was split 2-2 Thursday on requests brought by Ty Richardson and Robin Anderson. A tie means the request failed.

The board's decision means a runoff between leading vote-getter Mary Fant Donnan and second-place finisher John Brooks will be held June 24.

Richardson was less than 2,000 votes behind Brooks. Anderson was about 5,000 votes behind Brooks.

Brooks said he will run on his experience.

Brooks, who served as labor commissioner from 1977 to 1993, said the rest of the Democratic slate for Council of State positions will have 32 collective years of statewide experience.

"Their cumulative experience on the Council of State is the lowest it's been in the last 75 years," he said. "If I'm added to the slate, I'll add 50 percent more experience."

Donnan said she will spend her time trying to raise awareness of the runoff.

"The number one issue will be getting out the vote," she said. "For me, the challenge remains getting people to know my name and my message and getting them to to come to vote in the summertime."

Donnan, a program officer for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem, said she will take a new look at the "core functions" of the department and "take them forward in ways that are relevant to the 21st century."

Hagan in sight of Dole

Another poll released this week shows Democrat Kay Hagan within shouting distance of Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole in the U.S. Senate race.

SurveyUSA's poll found Dole leading 50 percent to 46 percent among likely voters.

The poll was conducted for WTVD-TV in Raleigh. Voters were interviewed from Saturday through Monday. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Two other recent polls, by Rasmussen and Public Policy Polling, also have Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro, close behind Dole.

Speedway perks

Dole will be the "honorary race director" Sunday at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord.

That means Dole gets to attend a pre-race meeting of drivers, preside over pre-race ceremonies and hang out in the control tower.

She also gets a sweet ride in the pace car at the beginning of the race, and she'll help hand over the trophy at its conclusion.

Burr wants hospital checked

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr joined his Democratic colleague on the Senate Veteran Affairs committee last week in calling for an independent investigation into a veterans hospital in Texas and its diagnoses of PTSD.

Burr is the top Republican on the committee. He and Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, the panel's chairman, said the Inspector General for the Veteran Affairs department needs to look into diagnoses at the medical center in Temple, Texas.

An employee there recently sent out an e-mail message suggesting that workers not diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, among patients.