After polls closed and most of the votes had been counted 9:46 p.m. Tuesday night, current District Attorney Mike Nifong narrowly beat out Freda Black in the Durham County Democratic primary elections.
Nifong faced off against contenders Black and Keith Bishop in the party primary. As of 10:15 p.m., Nifong had received 11,168 votes and 45 percent of the total vote-four percentage points more than Black. Ninety eight percent of the 59 precincts have reported back.
Nifong has served as a Durham County prosecutor for 26 years. He was appointed to the position of district attorney April 18, 2005.
In recent weeks, many, including the two other Democratic DA hopefuls, have scrutinized and, in some cases, criticized Nifong's handling of allegations that members of the Duke men's lacrosse team raped an exotic dancer at a March 13 party off East Campus.
Defense attorneys Kirk Osborn and Ernest Conner, who represent sophomore Reade Seligmann-one of the two players charged for the alleged crime-filed a motion May 1 requesting that Nifong recuse "himself and his office" from the case.
"District Attorney Mike Nifong neglected his duties as a prosecuter to seek the truth and a fair prosecution," the document states. "He created an actual conflict between his professional duty to search for the truth and his personal, vested interest in getting elected."
The motion goes on to state that Nifong ignored facts in the case and spoke to the media in such a way as to "bolster his election chances."
In addition, the defense lawyers wrote that Nifong "improperly injected himself" into the Durham Police Department's lineup process and did not allow Seligmann a probable cause hearing through which the player would have been able to demonstrate evidence that he is innocent.
Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, both sophomores on the lacrosse team, were charged with rape, assault and kidnapping, and are currently awaiting a May 15 court date.
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