NC 20th Senate ballot results

I'm posting a breakdown of the balloting here and on Blue NC.

For those of you who can't wait until then, Floyd McKissick is the new state Senator from the 20th district.

Floyd was elected on the 4th ballot, with 44 of the 83 votes cast.

More details to follow.

UPDATED:

We have a new state Senator.

After 4 ballots, Durham County Democratic Party chair Floyd McKissick, Jr., was elected to fill the remaining term of the late Senator Jeanne Lucas.

There were 91 eligible electors. 86 votes were cast on the first ballot, and 83 on each of the subsequent ballots. 44 votes were needed to win on the first ballot, 43 on each of the subsequent ballots, using the "50% + 1 of cast ballots" rules.

After the first ballot, the tally was

McKissick - 38
Black - 24
Cole-McFadden - 17
Johnson - 5
Burnette - 1
Pollard - 1

Due to a quirk in the balloting rules, with two candidates tied for the fewest number of votes, neither was eliminated for the second ballot.

Second ballot results:

McKissick - 38
Black - 28
Cole-McFadden - 12
Johnson - 2
Pollard - 2
Burnette - 1

Brenda Burnette was eliminated after the 2nd ballot.

Third ballot results:

McKissick - 41
Black - 37
Cole-McFadden - 3
Johnson - 1
Pollard - 1

The same quirk mentioned above applied in this round as well. However, both educator/activist Le Harve Johnson and ciy councilmember Cora Cole-McFadden withdrew their names from the ballot.

4th ballot results:

McKissick - 44
Black - 38
Pollard - 1

I think these results represent a clear victory for the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People (hereinafter referred to as the Committee.) They were the only one of the 3 main PACs in Durham to endorse a candidate, and Floyd was their man. Committee chair Dr. LaVonia Allison and Bertha Breeze, elder sister of the late Sen. Lucas worked the crowd through the evening to shore up support for Floyd, and i don't think it was much of a surprise as he picked up the votes he needed as candidates were eliminated following the second and third rounds.

There's no doubt that Floyd brings some baggage with him to his new position. Emails circulating throughout the campaign referred to his past legal troubles and several conflict of interest charges that have been previously aired. There was also a strong sentiment among some electors that the seat which had been filled by a woman should remain filled a woman.

In the end, however, none of the other candidates had a resume quite so impressive, campaigned quite so hard and well, and built quite as solid a base of support as Floyd.

Congratulations to Floyd McKissick. May he grow into his new responsibilities and represent us well in Raleigh.

Congratulations as well to all of the candidates, and heartfelt thanks to all of the electors who treated this responsibility so seriously. This was a proud moment in my life.

And once again, i'd like to repeat what my fellow elector Harris Johnson wrote:

I am reminding my fellow democrats that we should not burn bridges, and that the enemy is the republican party and George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and the Atty. General.

. . .

Again, lets be positive and stick together, we have a fight in front of us, if we are to save this nation. As we build on our strengths let us move forward together, not divided or fragmented regardless [of] who wins Monday evening.