Long-time Fayetteville attorney Dave Boliek said on Wednesday he will call for a runoff primary against fellow Republican Jack Clark in the GOP election for the state auditor.
The runoff primary, officially called the second primary, is scheduled for May 14.
Six Republicans in the March 5 primary sought the nomination for the November election. None of the six received more than 30% of the votes, the minimum needed to win the election.
As of Thursday’s uncertified totals, Clark had 23.24% out of 851,796 ballots, and Boliek had 22.12%.
“Neither one of us got 25% of the vote,” Boliek said. “No. 1, that’s not fair to the people of North Carolina” for someone to take the nomination with so little support.
“No. 2, it’s certainly not consistent with the support that I’ve gotten from people who have supported my campaign,” he continued. “I’ve gotten phone call after phone call, and text after text, wanting to make sure I was going to call for a runoff.”
In the November general election, the winner will face incumbent Auditor Jessica Holmes, a Democrat, and Libertarian candidate Bob Drach of Wilmington.
Although Boliek came in second place statewide, in some counties he was in first place. These include Cumberland County, where he received 34.66% as of Thursday.
Boliek lives in Durham, but he lived in Fayetteville for most of his adult life and is still a partner at the Williford, Crenshaw, Boliek & Frangakis Law Firm here.
Other runoff primary elections expected in May
Statewide, a runoff primary to pick the Republicans’ nominee for lieutenant governor is also expected between candidates Hal Weatherman and Jim O'Neill. There were 11 candidates in that race.
The Republicans’ second primary turnout likely will be boosted in the part of the Triangle area, where a runoff is expected in the 13th Congressional District. It also could be boosted for a GOP runoff for the 6th Congressional District, in the Triad and Piedmont area, from Winston-Salem to just north of Charlotte.
Although Boliek still has to win his primary to become the GOP nominee for auditor, he already is campaigning against incumbent Auditor Holmes.
Holmes needs to audit the Durham Public Schools, Boliek said, following a crisis in which the school system miscalculated pay raises for about 1,300 employees. These workers are cafeteria workers, instructional assistants, therapists and other non-teaching support staff, according to WUNC radio.
The school system attempted to end the raises in January, spurring massive outrage. Workers stayed home in protest, leading some schools to cancel classes, and the superintendent resigned.
Boliek said if elected, he will create rapid response teams in the Auditor Office to dive into such crisis situations.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501c3 charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.
