As election results slowly trickled in Tuesday night, all eyes seemed to be on Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. Many important, less-publicized local elections, however, were decided in Durham County as the Democratic Party continued a tradition of dominance, winning many posts by a wide margin.
A surge in voter turnout marked yesterday’s local elections in North Carolina. Sixty-five to 68 percent of the state’s 5.5 million registered voters cast their ballots, according to a statement released by Gary Bartlett of the state Board of Elections. Nearly one million people braved lines for up to four hours, a record total that is up almost 200 percent from the 2000 elections.
Durham County, in keeping with this state-wide voting trend, showed a 400 percent increase in early voting from the 2000 election. An estimated 72 percent of registered voters cast their ballots Tuesday in Durham County in an emphatic statement of support for Democrats.
Democrat Jim Long, Commissioner of Insurance since 1985, won in a 55-point landslide over his Republican opponent C. Robert Brawley. Elaine Marshall, also a Democrat, was elected Secretary of State by the same margin over Republican Jay Rao.
Democrat Richard Moore defeated Republican Edward Meyer by 50 points in the race for Durham County Treasurer.
Incumbents Becky Heron, Ellen Reckhow, Michael Page and Philip Cousin—all Democrats-—were reelected alongside a new Democratic candidate, Lewis Cheek, to comprise the five-person Durham County Commission.
Democrat Wayne Goodwin beat his opponent, Republican Cherie Berry, by a 39-point margin in the Commission of Labor election.
In District 20 of the state Senate, Democratic incumbent Jeanne Lucas defeated challenger Ray Ubinger in a landslide.
Voters also passed three amendments to the state constitution. Amendment One, which would permit the state General Assembly to finance public improvements, passed by a four-point margin. Amendment Two, which would allow state-collected fines to be used for improving and maintaining free public schools, passed in a landslide.
Amendment Three asked voters to decide whether magistrates should serve four-year terms after an initial two-year appointment. Voters approved the amendment by 30 points.
As of press time, the race for Commissioner of Agriculture between Democrat Britt Cobb and Republican Steve Troxler, was too close to call, as well as the race for the Superintendent of Public Instruction between Democrat June Atkinson and Republican Bill Fletcher.
Saidi Chen contributed to this story.
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