From Daily Planet Staff Reports

Democratic front-runner Barack Obama swept to victory in the North Carolina presidential primary on May 6, while his rival Hillary Clinton narrowly won in Indiana.

Returns showed Obama winning 56 percent of the vote to 42 percent for Clinton in North Carolina. However, Clinton won in all Western North Carolina counties except Buncombe and Watauga. The latter is the home of Appalachian State University.

Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower topped Spence Campbell to capture the 11th Congressional District Republican Primary. He got 48.6 percent of the vote, while Campbell, chair of the Henderson County Republican Party, finished with 41.8 percent.

Mumpower, a psychologist and an outspoken conservative, will face incumbent Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, in the November general election.

Later last week, Mumpower announced that he has rejected GOP money in challenging Shuler, noting that he intends to run as an”authentic maverick.”

In the race for governor, Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue and Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory snared their parties’ primaries for governor, setting up a fight to succeed outgoing Gov. Mike Easley.

The primary race for Buncombe County Board of Commissioners narrowed the field of  14 candidates — eight Democrats and six Republicans — to four from each party.

The top GOP finishers included former Asheville Councilman Joe Dunn, who topped his party’s field with 24.1 percent of the vote; followed by real-estate broker John Carroll, 19.8 percent; property manager and activist Don Yelton, 17.4 percent; and Ron McKee, former owner and manager of the Asheville Tourists, 16.3 percent.
The Democratic field was led by Asheville Councilwoman Holly Jones, with 21.5 percent; K. Ray Bailey, retired president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, 15 percent; and incumbents Carol Peterson, 13.8 percent and Bill Stanley, 12.3 percent.