Indiana's governor candidates locked in tight contest

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina's lieutenant governor easily won the Democratic primary for governor Tuesday, while former Indiana congresswoman Jill Long Thompson won a much tighter race for the Democratic nomination for governor in her state.

Long Thompson had a 5,487-vote advantage over Indianapolis architect Jim Schellinger with 99 percent of the vote counted early Wednesday, holding a 50.2 percent to 49.8 percent lead, according to unofficial results tallied by The Associated Press.

"It was an intense night," Long Thompson said. "You're always on edge during the day of the election, but we have done a good job of crunching numbers so we knew where we were."

Long Thompson said she thought her background in economic development was key to her win. She will face well-funded Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in November.

Schellinger spokeswoman Jennifer Wagner said early Wednesday that the campaign was not conceding the race and would evaluate the numbers later in the morning.

"As far as we're concerned it's still a neck-and-neck race," she said.

In North Carolina, Democratic Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue cruised to victory over State Treasurer Richard Moore after a $16 million fight to replace Democratic Gov. Mike Easley, who is barred by state law from seeking a third consecutive term.

Also in North Carolina, Republican Congressman Walter Jones, who pushed to bring "freedom fries" to the U.S. House cafeteria in a symbolic protest of French opposition to the Iraq war, withstood a challenge from Joe McLaughlin. Jones, a seven-term congressman who got the idea from a North Carolina eatery, later soured on the war and McLaughlin, a former Army officer, had hoped to capitalize on discontent with his anti-war stance.

On the Republican side of the North Carolina gubernatorial race, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory beat four candidates including state Sen. Fred Smith of Johnston County, his nearest opponent.

In other races, Democratic state Sen. Kay Hagan beat Chapel Hill entrepreneur Jim Neal for the right to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who breezed to a comfortable victory in her own primary Tuesday after facing token opposition from Pete Di Lauro, a former New York police officer.

And in Durham County, Democratic prosecutor Tracey Cline beat three other candidates vying to replace former District Attorney Mike Nifong, who resigned last year after being disbarred for his ill-fated prosecution of three Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of rape. There are no Republicans in the race, making it likely Cline will claim the office.

With all but one precinct counted, Cline - who had been an assistant to Nifong - had 46 percent of the vote. Former prosecutor Freda Black was second with 34 percent, while private practice lawyer Keith Bishop was third with 13 percent. Mitchell Garrell, also an assistant district attorney, had 7 percent.

"This was not about the Duke lacrosse case," Cline told The News & Observer of Raleigh. "This was the healing after the lacrosse case. It's apparent to me that Durham can pull together and get through anything. We've got to refocus the energy we have on dealing with juvenile and violent crime."

Five of Indiana's nine U.S. House members also faced primaries.

Republican Rep. Dan Burton, the state's longest-serving congressman, fended off a challenge from emergency room physician John McGoff. McGoff had hoped to unseat Burton, who came under fire last year amid reports that he missed 19 House votes during a trip to California for a charity golf tournament. Burton has said the golf trip was a mistake.

The other big race was in the 7th District, where new Democratic Rep. Andre Carson bested seven challengers as he sought to retain the seat he won in a March special election. He will face Republican Jon Elrod in November.

Carson replaced his grandmother, Rep. Julia Carson, who died in December after 11 years in Congress.

---

Associated Press writers Mike Baker in Raleigh and Deanna Martin in Indianapolis contributed to this report.