                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996                    TAG: 9605050046
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Long  :  184 lines

TUESDAY, VOTERS HAVE VOICE IN WHOLE SWEEP OF OFFICES AND, FOR 1ST TIME, UNAFFILIATED VOTERS NOW HAVE THEIR PICK OF PRIMARIES.

Who will challenge James B. Hunt Jr. for the governor's seat in November?

Who will battle Jesse Helms for a place in the U.S. Senate?

The people of North Carolina will answer these key questions and settle hundreds of other political scores in Tuesday's primary election.

Up for grabs are nominations for offices ranging from president of the United States to county register of deeds, with a flurry of state and local seats in between.

Republicans will decide whether state Rep. Robin Hayes, former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot or longshot hopefuls Art Manning or Ken Rogers faces Hunt.

Democrats will choose between former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt and physician Charlie Sanders in picking a contender for Helms.

For the first time, unaffiliated voters this election will have the luxury of deciding whether to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary. The Democratic Party decided to open its ballots to independents last year. Republicans traditionally have welcomed independents.

The primaries will also feature Republican candidates for lieutenant governor, state auditor, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner, state superintendent, treasurer and Supreme Court associate justice.

Statewide Democratic primaries include candidates for labor commissioner, secretary of state, state superintendent, treasurer and Court of Appeals Seat E.

Many Albemarle Democrats will also choose nominees for 1st District judge, 3rd District state representative and 3rd District U.S. Representative.

Running unopposed are state Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, and state Rep. W.C. ``Bill'' Owens Jr., D-Pasquotank. They will not appear on primary ballots.

Despite the number of offices hanging in the balance, state elections officials expect a relatively low turnout on Tuesday.

``Traditionally, it has run somewhere between, say, 28 and 32, 35 percent,'' said Johnnie F. McLean, deputy director for the North Carolina Board of Elections. ``Judging from the number of phone calls that we are not receiving, I think it may be toward the lower end of those numbers.

``I hope I'm wrong.''

Turnout is likely to vary from county to county, she said. The determining factor is often how many local names are on the ballot.

``The counties that have the highest voter turnout . . . are those counties where there is a hot local race,'' she said.

That could mean some wide-ranging turnout rates in Northeastern North Carolina, where some counties have no contested local elections and others have up to five candidates seeking one nomination.

In Camden County, seven people want to be the next register of deeds. Two Republicans will face off for their party's nomination for that seat - giving Camden its first local Republican primary in living memory. And five Democrats will compete to face the Republican winner in November.

``I think we're going to have a high turnout on Election Day, due to our register of deeds and school board,'' said Camden County elections Director Helen McPherson.

Six candidates are seeking two seats on the Camden County Board of Education.

School board races are different than the others that will appear on Tuesday's ballot. Because most are nonpartisan, the school board races are not primaries but actual elections. Counties such as Pasquotank and Camden will choose their new school board members on Tuesday, although those officials won't take office until December.

Many counties, such as Currituck and Chowan, put off their school board contests until the general election in November.

For a number of Albemarle counties with popular races, primary season won't be over when the polls close Tuesday.

If no candidate gets more than 40 percent of the vote in a three-, four- or five-way race, the second-place finisher can call for a second primary on June 4.

If two contenders get more than 40 percent of the vote, the person with the most votes wins and no runoff primary will be held, McLean said.

No candidates are challenged for county office in Chowan County.

But state Rep. Bill Culpepper of Edenton has two competitors for the Democratic nomination. And the seven-county 1st District judge's race, between Edgar Barnes and Ike McRee, includes Chowan. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

If you blink as you drive by, you still might not miss these signs

on U.S. 158 in Camden. They echo the variety on the ballot Tuesday:

primaries for president, governor, down to register of deeds

and...selection of some school board members.

Graphic

CANDIDATES

Candidates for Albemarle area offices. In Tuesday's primary,

partisan candidates will be nominated for the November general

election. School board members will be elected Tuesday in some

counties and in November in others. Candidates who face no primary

opposition will not appear on ballots Tuesday.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

1st District: Incumbent Eva Clayton (D), Ted Tyler (R).

3rd: Incumbent Walter B. Jones Jr. (R), Sheppard Neal Moore (D),

George Parrott (D), Gary E. Trawick (D).

STATE SENATE, 1ST DISTRICT Incumbent Marc Basnight (D).

STATE HOUSE

1st District: Incumbent W.C. ``Bill'' Owens Jr. (D).

86th: Incumbent Bill Culpepper (D), Rocky D. Midgette (D), Bill

Forbes (D).

DISTRICT COURT JUDGE 1st District: Incumbent Edgar Barnes (D),

Ike McRee (D).

CAMDEN COUNTY

Corprew (R); Peggy Ervinia Kight (D), Douglas V. Cartwright (D),

Forrest R. Pugh (D), Deborah Newton Carter (D), Carl S. Brinkley

(D).

Board of Commissioners: South Mills Township, incumbent J.C.

Rountree (D), Michael E. Andrews (R); Courthouse Township, incumbent

Larry G. Lamb (D), Nathan S. ``Buddy'' Tucker (D); at-large,

incumbent Samuel K. Shaw Sr. (D), Bill Taylor Jr. (D).

Board of Education (2 seats): incumbent David E. Meiggs, G. Wayne

White, Jon Worthington, Victor S. Neal, Gloria J. Bland, Wilton B.

Forbes Jr.

CHOWAN COUNTY

Board of Commissioners: District 1, Seat 1, Harry L. Winslow (D);

District 2, Seat 1, incumbent George E. Jones (D); District 3, Seat

1, incumbent James E. Taylor (D); at-large, incumbent Allen F.

Downum (D).

CURRITUCK COUNTY

Board of Commissioners: Crawford Township, incumbent Gene A.

Gregory (D), Sam Walker (D), William Dobney (R); Fruitville

Township, incumbent Ernest Bowden (D), Gary Montalbine (R).

Board of Education: Moyock Township, incumbent Janet Taylor,

Patricia Ferebee Blowe; Fruitville Township, incumbent John E.

Barnes.

DARE COUNTY

Board of Commissioners: District 1 (Roanoke Island, mainland),

Joseph Hassell (D); Clarence Skinner (D), incumbent; Hiram C. Gallop

(R); Richard Johnson (R). District 2 (Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills,

Colington), R.V.``Bobby'' Owens, (D), incumbent; William L.

Hauschild, (R); Stephen S. Sawin (R); William J. Stover (R); Tommy

G. Perkins, Libertarian. District 3 (Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores,

Duck), Martin Booth (D); Samuel O. Smith (D), incumbent; Cheryl P.

Byrd (R) (Paul Mericle (R) withdrew as a 3rd District candidate

Monday). District 4 (Hatteras Island), Joseph ``Mac'' Midgett (D),

incumbent; Jack Quidley (D); Douglas J. Price (R).

Board of Ed.: Dist. 2 (Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Colington),

David J. Daniels, Pamela ``Susie'' Walters. District 4 (Hatteras

Island), Allen L. Burrus. At large, Clarence E. Lewis, Kenneth D.

Johnson, Sam A. Twiford, incumbent.

GATES COUNTY

Bd. of Commissioners: Sunbury district, incumbent Hollis F.

Creecy (D), John D. Hill Jr. (R); Hobbsville dist., L. Frank

Rountree (D), Ernest Jordan (D).

Bd. of Education (2 seats): Eure district, incumbent Linda D.

Eure; Sunbury district, incumbent Dale W. Saunders.

PASQUOTANK COUNTY

Board of Commissioners: at-large, incumbent Zee B. Lamb (D),

Junius Wesley ``Jay'' Gaddy (D), David P. Bosomworth (D), Jerome H.

``Jerry'' Goldschmidt (R); northern inside, Levin B. Culpepper (D);

southern outside, incumbent Hugh W. Clinkscales (D).

Board of Education: At-large, Frank A. Jennings III, R. Rodney

Robinson, Carl G. Conner; inside city limits, incumbent Margaret G.

``Peggy'' McPherson; outside city limits: F. ``Mark'' Small, Mary E.

Sharpe.

PERQUIMANS COUNTY

Reg. of Deeds: Incumbent Deborah S. Reed (D), Gregory C. Barclift

(D).

Bd. of Commissioners (3 seats): Leo A. Higgins (D), M. Shirley

Yates (D), Archie Miller (D), L. Wayne Howell (D).

Board of Education (3 seats): Thomas L. Riddick Sr., Helen Shaw,

Wallace E. Nelson, Kathy Keefe, Cathy Terranova.

TYRRELL COUNTY

Board of Commissioners (3 seats): Ray McClees (D), incumbent;

William ``Billy'' Oakes (D); Gordon A. Deaver (D), incumbent;

Margaret Ann ``Peggy'' Griffin (D); Zack Brickhouse (D); Durwood M.

Cooper Jr., (R).

Board of Education (2 seats): Carl L. Willis (D), incumbent; Lynn

O. Williams (D), incumbent; Jan L. Bishop (R); Janie E. Spencer (D).

KEYWORDS: ELECTION NORTH CAROLINA CANDIDATES by CNB