2012 elections review: Six incumbent state reps toppled in NC legislative primaries
From Ballotpedia
May 9, 2012
By Ballotpedia's Congressional and State legislative teams
Attention in North Carolina was focused on Amendment 1 last night, but congressional and legislative primaries produced compelling results yesterday evening.
Boosted by strong opinions about the proposed marriage amendment,[1] voter turnout in North Carolina was 34 percent.[2]
| Contested Primaries in North Carolina -- May 8, 2012 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. House (13 seats) |
State Legislature (170 seats) | ||||
| Total Democratic Contested Primaries | 8 (61.54%) | 35 (20.59%) | |||
| Total Republican Contested Primaries | 10 (76.9%) | 55 (32.35%) | |||
Congress
The 10 U.S. House incumbents seeking re-election all won their primaries. The 9th, 11th, and 13th are open districts -- those in which the incumbent retired.
Three primaries -- all Republican races -- will go to a July 17 runoff between the top two vote-getters in each race. North Carolina holds a runoff if a winner receives less than 40 percent of the vote.
- Republicans Richard Hudson and Scott Keadle will rematch in July for the party nod in the 8th District.[3]
- In the 9th District, 11 Republicans were on the ballot, and Robert Pittenger and Jim Pendergraph will duke it out in the runoff.[4]
- In another crowded primary, Mark Meadows and Vance Patterson were the top vote-getters out of eight Republicans in the 11th District.[5]
State legislatures
- All State Senate incumbents who are running advanced to the general election.
- A total of six incumbent state legislators were defeated in the primary. All six - 5 Republicans and 1 Democrat - are members of the House:
- Darrell McCormick (R)
- Efton Sager (R)
- Larry Brown (R)
- Stephen LaRoque (R)
- Trudi Walend (R)
- James Crawford, Jr. (D)
- In two repeat races from 2010, the current incumbent emerged on top. Marcus Brandon defeated Earl Jones for the second straight election in a state house Democratic Primary, and Kelly Hastings (R) defeated Pearl Burris Floyd for the second consecutive time in a Republican state house primary.
- There will be four State Senate and three State House runoffs on July 17. The top-two candidates advanced but no winner was declared because nobody received 40 percent of the votes.
| North Carolina State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 19 | 18 | |
| Republican Party | 31 | 32 | |
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
| North Carolina House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 52 | 43 | |
| Republican Party | 67 | 77 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 120 | 120 | |
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina, 2012
- North Carolina State Senate elections, 2012
- North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Star News Online, "Marriage amendment bolsters area voter turnout," May 8, 2012
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial Election Results," May 9, 2012
- ↑ Independent Tribune, "Hudson, Keadle headed toward runoff in 8th District primary," May 8, 2012
- ↑ WSOC "Crowded 9th District race heading to summer runoff," May 8, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ The (Columbus) Republic, "2 Republicans will face each other in primary runoff in 11th Congressional District," May 8, 2012
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