By Staff
Beaufort County goes with GOP’s McCain and Dole
By MIKE VOSS
Contributing Editor
As the majority of voters in Hyde, Martin and Washington counties followed the majority of American voters in choosing Barack Obama as the next president, the majority of Beaufort County voters supported John McCain’s bid to become president.
By an extremely slim margin, 0.27 percent, Obama won North Carolina, something a Democratic presidential nominee had not done since Jimmy Carter was elected president, according to unofficial results from the N.C. State Board of Elections on Wednesday. Obama tallied 2,110,285 votes on Election Day, compared to 2,098,595 votes for McCain and 25,293 votes for Libertarian Bob Barr. Vote totals are unofficial.
Obama collected 49.67 percent of the 4,248,285 votes cast in North Carolina, with McCain garnering 49.40 percent of those votes.
In Beaufort County, McCain received 13,437, or 58.52 percent, of the 22,963 votes cast in the presidential race. Obama collected 9,426 votes, or 41.05 percent. Barr tallied 100 votes.
Of the 2,444 votes cast in the presidential race in Hyde County, Obama received 1,222 votes, or 50,12 percent, with McCain collecting 1,203 votes, or 49.22 percent. Barr tallied 11 votes.
In Washington County, Obama picked up 3,734 votes, or 58.01 percent of the 6,437 ballots marked in the presidential race. McCain received 2,667 votes, or 41.43 percent. Barr collected 19 votes.
The majority of Martin County voters picked Obama, providing him with 6,488 votes, or 52.13 percent, of the 12,447 votes cast in the presidential race. McCain picked up 5,914 votes, or 47.51 percent, in the contest. Barr tallied 31 votes.
Governor-elect Bev Perdue, in carrying the state, also carried Beaufort, Hyde Martin and Washington counties. Perdue, the state’s sitting lieutenant governor and a Democrat, collected 12,433 votes, or 54.49 percent, of the 22,818 votes cast in the gubernatorial race in Beaufort County. Republican Pat McCrory tallied 9,833 votes, or 43.09 percent. Libertarian Michael Munger received 552 votes.
In Hyde County, Perdue tallied 1,602 votes, or 66.06 percent, of the 2,425 votes cast in the gubernatorial race. McCrory picked up 771 votes, or 31.79 percent. Munger received 52 votes.
Perdue prevailed in Washington County, collecting 4,715 votes, or 73.24 percent of the 6,438 votes cast in the governor’s race. McCrory garnered 1,641 votes, or 25.49 percent. Munger received 82 votes.
In Martin County, Perdue tallied 8,584 votes, or 69.52 percent of the 12,348 votes cast in the gubernatorial contest. McCrory picked up 3,587 votes, or 29.05 percent. Munger collected 177 votes.
Democrat Kay Hagan defeated Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole for her seat in the U.S. Senate by getting 52.62 percent — 2,218,440 votes — of the statewide vote to Dole’s 44.21 percent, or 1,862,185 votes. Libertarian Christopher Cole was a distant third with 131,623 votes, or 3.12 percent of the vote.
Dole carried Beaufort County with 11,603 voters, or 50.88 percent of the 22,804 votes cast. Hagan picked up 10,499 votes, or 46.04 percent. Cole collected 702 votes.
Hagan took Hyde County, receiving 1,370 of the 2,434 votes cast, or 56.29 percent. Dole collected 999 votes, or 41.043 percent. Cole tallied 65 votes.
In Washington County, Hagan picked up 4,110 of the 6,428 votes cast, or 63.94 percent. Dole tallied 3,178 votes, or 33.88 percent. Cole received 137 votes.
Hagan also carried Martin County, where she collected 7,285 of the 12,353 votes cast, or 58.97 percent. Dole tallied 4,848 votes, or 39.28 percent. Cole received 215 votes.
In the state’s 1st Congressional District, Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat, was easily re-elected to another two-year term. He received 188,389 votes of the 269,787 votes cast in the district, or 69.83 percent. Republican Dean Stephens tallied 81,398 votes, or 30.17 percent. The district includes part of Beaufort County.
In Beaufort County, Butterfield received 4,623 of the 7,312 votes cast, or 63.22 percent. Stephens collected 2,689 votes, or 36.78 percent. All or parts of eight of Beaufort County’s 21 precincts are in the 1st Congressional District.
Butterfield picked up 4,704 of the 6,275 votes cast in Washington County, or 74.96 percent of the vote total. Stephens collected 1,571 votes, or 25.04 percent.
In Martin County, Butterfield tallied 8,127 of the 11,968 votes cast, or 67.91 percent. Stephens picked up 3,841 votes. or 32.09 percent.
In the state’s 3rd Congressional District, Republican incumbent Walter B. Jones tallied 198657 of the 300,707 votes cast in the district, giving him 66.06 percent of the vote. Democratic challenger Craig Weber collected 102,050 votes, or 33.94 percent.
In Beaufort County, Jones received 10,740 of the 15,198 votes cast, or 70.67 percent. Weber tallied 4,458 votes, or 29.33 percent. All or parts of 15 precincts in Beaufort County are in the 3rd District.
Jones carried Hyde County, picking up 1,398 of the 2,418 votes cast, or 57.82 percent. Weber tallied 1,020 votes, or 42.18 percent.