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In North Carolina’s primary election Tuesday, voters will be going to the polls to set up what could be several interesting House contests in November.
In a state with strong Republican-leaning gerrymandering, Democrats have identified several districts with the potential to turn blue in a wave year. Hint: these are suburban areas.
Live results below. Polls close at 7:30 pm ET.
North Carolina’s Second Congressional District: there’s a competitive Democratic primary in the suburbs of Raleigh
Update: Linda Coleman is the projected winner.
Two Democrats are running in what has become a competitive primary in North Carolina’s second district, encompassing Raleigh’s north and southeastern suburbs: Linda Coleman, a former state lawmaker, and Ken Romley, an entrepreneur in the technology sector.
They’re vying for the chance to oust incumbent Republican Rep. George Holding, a former prosecutor whose family owns First Citizens Bank & Trust and who has been in office since 2013. It’s a predominantly white district and has an R+7 estimated lean by Cook Political Report. But in 2016, Holding’s margin of victory was smaller than that of most incumbent Republicans in North Carolina, and weak approval ratings for Trump and an energized base have Democrats thinking they could flip the suburban district.
North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional District: home to the next Conor Lamb?
Update: Dan McCready is the projected Democratic primary winner
In this heavily suburban and gerrymandered district around Charlotte, incumbent Republican Rep. Robert Pittenger, a real estate investor who has served the district since 2013, is facing a serious primary challenge from Mark Harris, a former senior pastor of Charlotte’s First Baptist Church and former president of the North Carolina Baptist Convention.
Harris, who was a leader in the successful 2012 push to pass a state constitutional amendment reaffirming North Carolina’s same-sex marriage ban (which was rendered moot by the US Supreme Court decision), challenged Pittenger in 2016 and came close to beating him.
There’s also a two-person Democratic primary. Dan McCready, a Marine Corps veteran and solar energy entrepreneur who has been compared to Pennsylvania’s Conor Lamb, is the favorite to win. He’s running against Christian Cano, who calls himself a “20 year veteran of the Hospitality industry.” Cano made headlines after calling McCready a “coward” and a “pussy,” for which the state’s Democratic Party demanded he apologize. He did.
North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District: a Democrat is running on health care — this year, that may be all she needs
In another suburban district around Greensboro, Democrat Kathy Manning, a philanthropist, former immigration lawyer, and major Democratic donor, is the favorite to win the primary for one of the more competitive districts in North Carolina. She’s running on jobs and affordable health care and has already picked up an Emily’s List endorsement and the support of North Carolina Democratic lawmakers. Adam Coker, a small-business owner — a truck driver and cattle rancher — is also running, with endorsements from several state and local elected officials.
The incumbent Republican Rep. Ted Budd, a first-term Congress member and former gun store owner who secured his seat in 2016 after winning a 17-way Republican primary. The area went for Trump pretty easily in 2016, but early on, the district’s rating went from Solid Republican to Likely Republican. There are 10 college campuses close by, and the district also has a significant African-American population. So far, Budd has had a lot of fundraising challenges and has some major national PACs behind him. Even so, Manning outraised him threefold over the first three months of 2018.
