Republican runoff elections set for May 14

Republicans in Martin County and throughout North Carolina will head back to the polls on Tuesday, May 14.

While most of the nominees for state and national office were chosen in March, two offices will require runoff elections. Runoffs are an option for candidates by law in cases where no candidate receives more than 30 percent of the vote.

Candidates have requested runoffs for the Republican nominees for Lieutenant Governor and State Auditor.

Hal Weatherman received just under 20 percent of the vote in an 11-person field for the GOP nomination for Lt. Governor. He was named on 181,818 ballots.

Weatherman served as Chief of Staff to former North Carolina Lt. Governor Dan Forest and former U.S. Representative Sue Myrick.

Jim O’Neill is the current District Attorney for Forsyth County and finished second in the statewide race for the Republican nomination. He received just under 16 percent of the vote, earning the votes of 147,042 people.

Those two will be the only candidates on the ballot as the other candidates — Deanna Ballard, Seth Woodall, Sam Page, Allen Mashburn, Jeffery Elmore, Peter Boykin, Rivera Douthit, Ernest Reeves and Marlenis Hernandez Novoa — were eliminated.

A similar situation occurred with the Republican race to become the party’s nominee for State Auditor.

Jack Clark and Dave Boliek were neck-and-neck for the nomination with Clark earning just over 23 percent of the vote and Boliek garnering just over 22 percent. The two outdistanced Charles Dingee, Jeff Tarte, Anthony Wayne Street and Jim Kee.

Clark, a Certified Public Accountant, currently works with the N.C. General Assembly on budget policy. He gained 198,793 votes.

Boliek, an attorney who serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earned 189,071 votes.

Since the runoff is considered a continuation of the March primary, voters can only vote for candidates of the party for which they are registered, meaning voters will be Republicans or Unaffiliated voters who voted Republican in the March primary.