GOP primaries to be settled in NC runoffs. What you need to know

Republican primaries are expected to be settled Tuesday in three high-profile North Carolina races.

With early in-person voting finished, voters have one last chance to cast a ballot for candidates seeking the GOP nominations for lieutenant governor, state auditor and a Triangle-area congressional district. Tuesday is also the deadline for mail-in ballots to be received by county election officials. Here’s what you need to know:

How we got here. Many of the March 5 primary elections this year were crowded races with numerous candidates. The GOP lieutenant governor, state auditor and 13th Congressional District primary races ended without any single candidate receiving the minimum 30% of the vote needed to win the nomination outright, leading to second primaries between the top two finishers in each March 5 contest. There are no runoffs this year for any Democratic primaries.

Who can vote. Two of the Republican primaries — the auditor and lieutenant governor contests — are open to voters all over the state. The GOP primary for the 13th Congressional District is open to people who live in the district, which includes voters in Johnston County, parts of Wake County and half a dozen other more counties on the outskirts of the Triangle. Registered Republicans and some unaffiliated voters are allowed to vote in the Republican runoff elections. Unaffiliated voters can participate, provided they didn’t vote in another party’s primary on March 5. People who aren’t already registered to vote won’t be allowed to vote in the runoff, unless they only became eligible to vote between the primary and the runoff.

How to vote. Tuesday is the last day to cast a ballot in person. Polls will be open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voters should go to their assigned precinct and bring an acceptable form of photo identification, which is now required by state law in most cases. To find your precinct information, details about voter ID and answers to other election-related questions, go to www.ncsbe.gov/voting. Tuesday is also the deadline for mail-in ballots to be received by county election officials.

What will turnout look like? Millions of North Carolinians will be eligible to vote in the runoff, but turnout is expected to be low. Only 24% of voters participated in the March primary, and a fraction of that are expected to participate in the runoff.

The races. Here’s a breakdown of the three key races.

• Lieutenant governor. Hal Weatherman, a longtime conservative activist, and Jim O’Neill, the Forsyth County district attorney, are seeking the Republican nomination for North Carolina lieutenant governor. Whoever wins will face Democratic nominee Rachel Hunt in November. Hunt is a state senator from the Charlotte suburbs and the daughter of former Gov. Jim Hunt.
• State auditor. Jack Clark, a state legislative staffer, and Dave Boliek, a Fayetteville lawyer and UNC-Chapel Hill trustee, are seeking the Republican nomination for North Carolina auditor. The winner will face off in November against State Auditor Jessica Holmes — a Democrat who Gov. Roy Cooper appointed to the office last year after former Auditor Beth Wood, another Democrat, stepped down amid scandal.
• 13th Congressional District. The 13th District race features two Triangle-area lawyers — Kelly Daughtry and Brad Knott — who are from families with deep political connections. It will likely determine who represents the area in Congress. The winner will face Democratic nominee Frank Pierce in the general election for the district, which GOP state lawmakers redrew late last year to heavily favor a Republican candidate. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel, a Democrat, chose not to run for reelection after the district was redrawn. After Knott was endorsed by former Republican President Donald Trump, Daughtry all-but conceded defeat. She said earlier this month that she was dropping out of the race. But that’s not possible at this stage, and her name will still be on the ballot when voters in the district go to the polls.