Former Ind. congresswoman wins gov. primary after tight race

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Former Indiana congresswoman Jill Long Thompson eked out a win in a tight race Tuesday to become the Democratic nominee for governor in her state, while North Carolina's lieutenant governor easily won his Democratic primary for governor.

On the Republican side of the North Carolina gubernatorial race, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory beat four candidates including state Sen. Fred Smith, his nearest opponent.

The vote also included an epilogue to the Duke University lacrosse scandal. An assistant to the prosecutor who resigned in disgrace for his handling of the investigation won a race to fill the office.

In Indiana, Long Thompson had a 50.2 percent to 49.8 percent victory over Indianapolis architect Jim Schellinger early Wednesday, according to unofficial results tallied by The Associated Press.

The race went back and forth during the night Tuesday, with Long Thompson leading early, Schellinger edging ahead for several hours, and Long Thompson moving ahead after 1 a.m. when results from Lake County came in.

"It was an intense night," Long Thompson said. "You're always on edge during the day of the election, but we have done a good job of crunching numbers so we knew where we were."

She will face well-funded Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in November.

Schellinger spokeswoman Jennifer Wagner said early Wednesday that the campaign was not conceding the race and would evaluate the numbers later Wednesday.

In North Carolina, Democratic Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue cruised to victory over State Treasurer Richard Moore after a $16 million fight to replace Democratic Gov. Mike Easley, who cannot seek a third consecutive term.

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