N.C., Ind. Primary Results
North Carolina State Attorney General Mike Easley won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday in a bid to succeed retiring North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt, beating back six other Democrats.
Former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot was leading in the race for the Republican nomination.
With 46 percent of precincts reporting, Easley had 145,639 votes, or 60 percent, to Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker's 87,622 votes, or 36 percent. Vinroot had 60,779 votes, or 44 percent, to state Rep. Leo Daughtry's 25,400 votes, or 35 percent. Former state Rep. Chuck Neely trailed with 19 percent of the vote.
To avoid a runoff, the winning candidate in each party must get more than 40 percent of the vote.
In Indiana, conservative Rep. David McIntosh won the GOP nomination to challenge first-term Democratic Gov. Frank O'Bannon. With 41 percent of precincts reporting, he had 119,500 votes, or 71 percent of the vote. He defeated John Price, a lawyer who toured the state in a red school bus, who had 49,825 votes, or 29 percent. O'Bannon had no opposition.
Congressional races in both states drew heavy competition.
Turnout, however, appeared light in both states with the Republican and Democratic nominees for president all but final. George W. Bush and Al Gore already have won the necessary number of delegates, and they won more Tuesday.
In Indiana, Gore drew 76 percent of the vote, while his former rival Bill Bradley won 21 percent. Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. had 3 percent. Bush drew 81 percent and former rival John McCain drew 19 percent.
In North Carolina, Bush drew 77 percent of the Democratic vote, while former rivals John McCain drew 12 percent and Alan Keyes drew 9 percent. Gore drew 68 percent, while his former rival, Bill Bradley, drew 21 percent.
In Washington, Gore drew 95 percent of the Democratic vote. Bush drew 73 percent, and former candidate John McCain had 24 percent.
Hunt, North Carolina's governor from 1975 to 1983 and re-elected to two more terms starting in 1993, is barred by state law from seeking another term. The Democrat is one of the state's best-known politicians, with approval ratings exceeding 70 percent. He did not endorse any of the 13 candidates.
During the campaign, Wicker and Easley argued over how best to strengthen education programs with money from a not-yet-approved state lottery.
Vinroot and Daughtry criticized each other's conservative record on spending and abortion, while debating whether to use attack ads. Former state Rep. Chuck Neely avoided most of that fight, and trailed with 20 percent of the vote.
Easley, a 50-year-old former state prosecutor, ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 1990. Vinroot ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for governor in 1996. Daughtry was former majority leader of the state House.
In all, there were seven Democrats, four Republicans and two Libertarians running.
In a bid to challenge Democratic Rep. Mel Watt in he fall, history teacher Chad Mitchell led with 1,343 votes in early returns, or 47 percent, to gourmet coffee shop owner John Cosgrove's 1,073 votes, or 37 percent.
Watt's district's lines are being challenged in federal court by critics who allege it was drawn with an unconstitutional emphasis on race.
In Indiana, three-term Rep. McIntosh's decision to run for governor set off a scramble among 11 candidates to represent his east-central Indiana district, which includes Muncie.
With 33 percent of the precincts reporting, former radio talk show host Mike Pence led with 6,142 votes, or 44 percent, over Republican state Rep. Jeff Linder, who had 3,942 votes, or 28 percent.