Democrats may head to runoff for Lt Gov. Here’s who won NC’s other statewide races.
The Democratic primary race for North Carolina lieutenant governor could be headed for a runoff, the only statewide election without a clear winner.
The winner will face Republican Mark Robinson, who avoided a runoff with 32% of votes in a crowded GOP primary that included several more well-known candidates. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who is completing his second and final term, is running for governor.
Among Democrats, state Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley won 26% of the votes in complete but unofficial results, leading a field of six candidates but falling short of the more than 30% of votes needed to win the primary outright.
State Sen. Terry Van Duyn won 20% of votes and will be able to request a runoff. Allen Thomas and state Rep. Chaz Beasley had nearly 19% and Bill Toole and Ron Newton trailed.
Van Duyn’s campaign spokesperson said Wednesday she is taking a few days to meet with “voters and stakeholders” before making a decision by the end of the week on whether to request a runoff election.
In a statement emailed to the N&O Wednesday, Holley called for unity.
“With 306,795 votes, the people of North Carolina have spoken. Representative Yvonne Lewis Holley is the presumptive Democratic nominee after the 2020 Primary Election. In a 6-way race, she finished the primary with more votes than any other candidate,” the news release said.
“I look forward to leading the North Carolina Democratic ticket with Governor Cooper in November. I call on all of my recent Democratic opponents to join me in unity so that we can win back the General Assembly this fall. I am ready to start fundraising for the general election and ignite the progressive base of the Democratic party,” Holley said in the statement.
In the nine-way Republican race, Robinson was followed by state Sen. Andy Wells with 14%, State Superintendent Mark Johnson with 12% and John L. Ritter with 11%. Greg Gebhardt, Renee Ellmers, Scott Stone, Deborah Cochran and Buddy Bengel captured less than 10% of the vote each.
A video of Robinson at a Greensboro City Council meeting in 2018 supporting gun rights went viral, and he serves on the NRA national outreach board.
Not all Council of State races had 2020 primaries. Here are the contested primaries in the rest of the Council of State races and election results:
Attorney General
Three Republicans competed in the primary for attorney general: Christine Mumma, Jim O’Neill and Sam Hayes. O’Neill, the Forsyth County district attorney, won with 46% of the vote.
O’Neill will face incumbent Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein in the general election.
Secretary of State
Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Elaine Marshall was unopposed in the primary.
Republican and Durham businessman E.C. Sykes had a strong lead much of the night and won with 42% of the vote. Gaston County Commissioner Chad Brown followed with 38% and Michael LaPaglia, who ran four years ago, was in third.
NC Treasurer
Results showed three Democrats — Dimple Ajmera, Ronnie Chatterji and Matt Leatherman — locked in a close race for most of election night, but Chatterji won out.
Chatterji had 35.7% and Ajmera had 33.9% of the vote, followed by Leatherman with 30%.
Chatterji is a business strategy professor at Duke University. He will run against incumbent Republican Treasurer Dale Folwell in the general election.
At a party to watch election results at GOP headquarters, Folwell talked about how he represents all North Carolinians.
“There’s no Democrat, Republican money in the Treasurer’s Office,” Folwell said. “It’s all green. As keepers of the public purse, every day we have the opportunity to go in and be fair and just.”
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Republican state Superintendent Mark Johnson is running for lieutenant governor, so the office is open, and both parties had primaries.
Jen Mangrum won the Democratic primary with 33% of votes, followed by Keith Sutton with 26% and Constance (Lav) Johnson with 21%. James Barrett and Michael Maher trailed.
Mangrum is a UNC Greensboro professor and former elementary school teacher.
Catherine Truitt won the Republican primary, with 56% of the vote over Craig Horn, who had 43% with all precincts reporting.
Truitt is a former teacher and former education advisor to former Gov. Pat McCrory, who is now chancellor of Western Governors University North Carolina.
Labor Commissioner
Incumbent Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry isn’t running again. Republican state Rep. Josh Dobson got 40% of the votes in the primary, defeating Chuck Stanley who received 37% of the vote and Pearl Burris Floyd who had 21%.
Dobson, a budget analyst, will run against Democrat Jessica Holmes, who was unopposed in the primary and is a Wake County commissioner.
State Auditor
Democratic incumbent Auditor Beth Wood defeated primary challenger Luis Toledo by capturing 77% of the vote.
In the Republican primary, Anthony Wayne (Tony) Street won with 56% of the vote. Tim Hoegemeyer received 43%.
Insurance Commissioner
Republican incumbent Mike Causey was challenged by Ronald Pierce. With all precincts reporting, Causey defeated Pierce with 64% of the vote.
Causey will face former commissioner and Democrat Wayne Goodwin in the general election.
Agriculture Commissioner
Three Democrats — Jenna Wadsworth, Donovan Watson and Walter Smith — competed in the primary. The winner faces longtime incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
Wadsworth won the Democratic primary with 53% of the vote, followed by Smith with 30% and Watson with 15%.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 8:33 PM.
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