NC primary already has been a draw for candidates. Now it will be the voters’ turn.
North Carolina voters on Tuesday will get their turn to weigh in on a primary that could help catapult one candidate to the Democratic presidential nomination, end the aspirations of others and test the appeal of two free-spending billionaires.
The state’s March 3 primary is one of 16 Super Tuesday contests. It will come three days after a South Carolina primary that by itself could reshape the still-crowded Democratic field.
For North Carolina, the primary is the earliest ever. Designed to make the state more relevant in the presidential selection process, it has resulted in multiple candidates visits and a barrage of TV advertising.
The final week alone has seen a of flurry of appearances by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
The most recent state polls show Sanders, Biden and Bloomberg clustered at the top, with other candidates trailing.
Also on the ballot are primaries for the U.S. Senate and House, governor and Council of State, the General Assembly and local offices.
And not to be overshadowed, President Donald Trump has scheduled an Election Eve rally at Charlotte’s Bojangles’ Coliseum.
Here are the stakes in Tuesday’s primaries — and how some voters are looking at the presidential race.
Too early?
To move up on the presidential nominating calendar, North Carolina moved filing for all offices to December. For most candidates, that’s left barely two months to campaign in their own primaries and has given voters a short time to vet them.
For example, nine Republicans and six Democrats are running for lieutenant governor.
“Frontloading the primary to March to try to influence the presidential race has not helped the rest of the ballot,” said John Hood, who chairs the board of the John Locke Foundation. “(Campaigns) have been artificially short.”
Bloomberg’s test
The former mayor, who skipped the early contests, will get his first real test in North Carolina and other Super Tuesday states. And no one has invested more in their state campaign.
Bloomberg has a paid staff of around 125 in North Carolina. By mid-February he’d spent nearly $9 million on TV advertising in the state, according to Advertising Analytics. He’s been endorsed by a former governor, the mayors of Charlotte and Raleigh and the Democratic leaders of the state House and Senate.
He has hammered less at fellow Democrats than at the president and calls himself the “unTrump.” Still, outside of New York City, he’s untested on an actual ballot.
“It should be one of his best, if not perhaps his best state, on Super Tuesday,” said political scientist Andrew Taylor of N.C. State University.
Big crowds for Sanders
A win in North Carolina would continue Sanders’ roll.
He won in New Hampshire and Nevada and captured the popular vote in Iowa. He’s jumped out to a double-digit lead in national polls, according to Real Clear Politics.
He’s drawn big crowds in North Carolina. And in the last three months of 2019, he raised $306,000 from N.C. donors, more than any Democrat.
“The big advantage Bernie is showing right now that he’s got his own lane,” said Pope “Mac” McCorkle, director of Polis, the Sanford School’s Center for Politics at Duke University. “He’s been winning by a plurality strategy.”
It’s about delegates
A third- and even fourth-place finish in Iowa or New Hampshire was good for bragging rights or, in the case of Klobuchar, “Klomentum.”
But from Tuesday on, it’s all about delegates.
In the Democrats’ byzantine system of delegate selection, candidates must win 15% of delegates in a congressional district or statewide to claim any delegates. Anything less they take away nothing.
In the Real Clear Politics polling average, only Biden, sanders and Bloomberg exceeded the statewide threshold.
Possibly complicating matters: Of the 15 Democrats on the state’s presidential ballot, seven are no longer in the race. But their votes will count, potentially diluting numbers for other candidates.
And the voters say....
Emma Zalecki, a UNC Charlotte student, voted at an early-voting site on campus. No fan of Trump, she said she’s a Sanders’ supporter. She called his proposal to cancel student debt potentially “very life-changing.”
“I voted for Bernie mainly because I think he has the biggest following and best chance of beating Trump,” said Zalecki, 21.
But elections officials at the site called student turnout light. Since early voting kicked off on Feb. 13, 900 people have cast ballots at the gym, according to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections. On one day, only 17 people voted.
At another site, Nadine O’mally, who has lost loved ones to gun violence, said Bloomberg was a natural choice for her. “I do want Charlotte to be a better place,” O’mally, 42, said. “It’s very important for my friends and family — I want the community to be safe.”
Robert Belfield, 63, said despite the similar perspectives shared by Elizabeth Warren and Sanders, he cast his ballot for the Massachusetts senator. Belfield said he supports Warren’s stance on health care as well as her overarching focus on income equality.
“I think she’s the smartest candidate,” Belfield said. “She has detailed policy plans, and she can articulate them better than anyone else.”
In south Charlotte, Paul Martin, 55, said he appreciates that Pete Buttigieg avoids bickering and name-calling during the Democratic debates. In a crowded field, Martin said the former South Bend mayor is one of the more “mainstream” candidates on the ballot.
“He has a general message that should appeal to everyone,” Martin said. “He’s someone I would listen to as a leader.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "NC primary already has been a draw for candidates. Now it will be the voters’ turn.."
