Veteran North Carolina Rep. Wray drops further appeals in primary, losing to challenger

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A veteran North Carolina Democratic state legislator conceded Monday in a close primary race after his election protests and recounts didn’t change the result favoring his challenger.

Ten-term Rep. Michael Wray of Northampton County announced that he wouldn’t ask the State Board of Elections to review the decisions by elections boards in the three counties that comprise a reconfigured 27th House District dismissing his formal protests.

Wray also had asked each board to conduct recounts, the final one of which was completed Monday. But the recounts in Halifax, Northampton and Warren counties resulted in no changes to the tallies, board officials said. Rodney Pierce of Halifax County is the winner, with results on the state board website showing him 34 votes ahead of Wray after nearly 12,000 ballots were cast.

The decision sets the stage for the state elections board to make official the 27th District result on Tuesday when it meets to certify the March 5 primary outcomes.

“I filed an election protest to make sure that every single vote was counted,” Wray said in a news release, adding that his protests would not be enough to overcome the margin. “I don’t know what the future holds for me. However, I do know that I will continue to fight for the people of North Carolina.”

Wray, who first joined the House in 2005, was targeted by outside groups and other Democrats for aligning himself at times with leaders in the Republican-controlled House, where he is one of the senior chairmen of the powerful finance committee.

Pierce, a schoolteacher in Northampton County, faces no Republican opposition in November, all but ensuring that he will serve in the General Assembly starting in January.

“I thank Rep. Wray for his years of service,” Pierce said in a statement. “The people have spoken and it’s time to work together to move our district forward.”

Wray will join three other General Assembly incumbents who lost their primary elections: Democratic Sen. Mike Woodard of Durham County and Republican Reps. George Cleveland of Onslow County and Kevin Crutchfield of Cabarrus County.