North Carolina Primary Voters Decide Hagan Rival – ABC News

North Carolina voters are about to decide who they believe can best challenge Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan in November: a state politics insider backed by Mitt Romney or first-time candidates more aligned with the tea party and the Christian right.

Tuesday’s U.S. Senate primary will highlight the struggle for control in the Republican Party as eight candidates run for the GOP nomination in a campaign that could influence the party and the makeup of the U.S. Senate. Republicans and independents can vote in the Republican primary. Hagan was being challenged in her own party by two lesser-known opponents.

Thom Tillis, the state House speaker and leading fundraiser in the GOP primary, is hoping to avoid a mid-July runoff by securing more than 40 percent of the vote.

“I’m not the one who believes it’s certain,” Tillis said on election eve. “I believe it’s going to depend on turnout.”

His leading rivals, obstetrician and tea party favorite Greg Brannon and Baptist pastor Mark Harris, want to block Tillis from winning, either now or in the summer.

“We believe that there’s more to come,” said Harris, whose backers include former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. “There’s a strong possibility or probability of a runoff, and we’ve realized that we’ve got to keep going.”

As Harris worked with volunteers knocking on doors Monday, Tillis and Brannon tried to use their endorsements to their advantage. Tillis rolled out his written endorsement from Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, who called Tillis a “conservative” and a problem-solver in state government. “I am confident he will do the same in Washington,” Romney wrote in an email to Tillis’ supporters.

Brannon, meanwhile, benefited from a visit to Charlotte by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, another tea party favorite.

via North Carolina Primary Voters Decide Hagan Rival – ABC News.