A closer look at North Carolina's primary results

When all was said and done March 15, very few eyebrows raised across the state as a result of North Carolina primaries.

In a year when the outsider is supposed to have an advantage, the lack of surprises was somewhat of a surprise.

Looking at the results of every statewide and state legislative race, only a few contests stand out. And most of those are not because an underdog candidate won, but because the favored candidate did not do as well as expected.

Here are a few notable results:

Republican president: GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz did better against Donald Trump than polls predicted before the primary. Unofficial results showed Trump received 40 percent to Cruz’s 37 percent. Polls taken right before the primary had Trump getting 44 percent to 48 percent, with Cruz getting 28 percent to 33 percent of the votes. It was much closer.

N.C. Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, endorsed Cruz a day before the election. After the results came in, he said: “Sen. Cruz shocked the political establishment and proved his broad appeal with a close second place finish in North Carolina.”

Democratic attorney general: N.C. Sen. Josh Stein of Wake County could not have been extremely pleased with his showing in the Democratic primary to replace Roy Cooper, who is running for governor. Stein, an attorney, received 53.4 percent of the votes against Marcus Williams, a Lumberton lawyer, who had unsuccessfully sought a number of elected posts in the past.

Stein announced this week he was resigning his Senate seat after seven years to focus on his run for attorney general against Republican Buck Newton of Wilson, also a state senator and attorney. Preliminary election results show Stein lost roughly half of North Carolina’s 100 counties in the primary. He has a lot of work to do before November.

Newton won his primary by about 10 percentage points. These are two candidates to get to know in the coming months.

General Assembly: At least two N.C. House incumbents lost primaries – a Democrat and a Republican – but most sitting members turned away challengers. Democrat Amos Quick, a Baptist pastor and Guilford County school board member, defeated N.C. Rep. Ralph Johnson, a Greensboro Democrat, who had recently suffered a stroke and passed away on Election Day.

Also, Destin Hall, a Republican attorney from Caldwell County, defeated N.C. Rep. George Robinson of Lenoir, who had been appointed to the District 87 seat in early 2015 after former Rep. Edgar Starnes resigned. Quick and Hall both appear to be headed to Raleigh in 2017, as neither faces opposition in November.

Meanwhile, N.C. Rep. Charles Jeter, a Huntersville Republican, still awaits his fate, as he leads his race against retired Air Force Lt. Col. Tom Davis by only 38 votes. A recount there is likely after results are official. Jeter is the conference chairman among House Republicans. It is unlikely, but if he ultimately loses, that would be the biggest surprise this primary season.

In the N.C. Senate, the four Democratic and three Republican incumbents who drew challengers all won their primaries.

Republican secretary of state: I am not sure what to make of this race, but Michael LaPaglia of Durham easily defeated A.J. Daoud of Pilot Mountain. LaPaglia received 62 percent of the votes and will face Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, a Democrat, in November. Daoud’s website noted a Steering Committee that included many prominent Republicans, including congressmen, powerful General Assembly members and a former state Republican chairman. He seemed to be the establishment favorite, but lost handily. LaPaglia has his hands full with Marshall, who received 54 percent of the votes against Republican Ed Goodwin in 2012.