Iredell Primary 2018 Results: Manning To Square Off Against Budd

MOORESVILLE, NC — The primary votes are in and Democrat Kathy Manning will run against incumbent Ted Budd for the U.S. House of Representatives District 13 seat, one of several seats in the Tar Heel state North Carolina Democrats believe they can flip blue in the 2018 midterm elections in November.

In unofficial results, Manning had 19,472 votes with 99.59 precincts reporting. Her challenger Democrat Adam Coker had 8,289 votes.

“Tonight was a strong win, but a lot of work ahead of us to win in November. But the momentum and energy is on our side, and by working together, we will send Rep. Ted Budd packing this November,” Manning said in a victory message on her campaign Facebook page.

On a night when GOP incumbent Rep. Robert Pittenger lost his bid to maintain his U.S. House seat for the 9th District, Manning’s win is a reflection of building enthusiasm for Democrats in the Tar Heel state leading into midterms, according to political observers.

SEE ALSO: NC Primary 2018 Results: Pittenger Loses GOP Primary

“The North Carolina Congressional map was drawn to have no competitive districts, but looks like it will have several this year,” Public Policy Polling said Tuesday night. “We recently found Kathy Manning, who won 70% tonight in her primary in NC-13, down only 43-40 to incumbent Ted Budd.”

In late April, Manning had outpaced Budd’s campaign fundraising three fold, worrying GOP campaign officials, McClatchy reported.

Polls across the state largely closed at 7:30 p.m., however there were exceptions. Voting hours in Hoke County, for example, were extended by 15 minutes to accommodate voters in line by 7:45 p.m. at one precinct to offset the facility opening late, the NC State Board of Election said Tuesday evening. In Robeson County, voting was extending by 45 minutes after a traffic accident delayed voting at a precinct location.

Turnout for Tuesday’s election was sluggish early on, according to one election official. While the Iredell County Board of Elections will not have final numbers until later this evening, anecdotal evidence was that precincts in Mooresville and the south end of Iredell County showed stronger voter turnout than in the Statesville area or north end of the county, said Becky Galliher, director of the Board of Elections in Iredell County.

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“The numbers are still slow,” Galliher told Patch midday.

When it came to early voting, 4.25 percent of North Carolina’s nearly 7 million registered voters turned out to cast their ballot before election day, North Carolina State Board of Election officials announced Tuesday. Of those votes, nearly half — 47.5 percent — cast votes for Democrats. Republicans cast 28 percent of the state’s absentee votes, Unaffiliated voters cast 24 percent of votes and Libertarians cast less than 1 percent, NCSBE data said. Those unofficial figures are through Monday, May 7 and do not reflect mail-in ballots that continue to come in, the board said.

Below is a list of candidates for the Iredell County Primary May 8. Results will be updated throughout the evening and winners will be an X.

Photo via Kimberly Johnson/ Patch