The State Employees Association of North Carolina has made its endorsements.

The group's Employees Political Action Committee, also known as EMPAC, made 16 endorsements in statewide races after meeting Saturday.

"We're thrilled to support candidates who support the state's working families and the retirees who dedicated their careers to serving North Carolina's citizens," said SEANC President Linda Rouse Sutton. 

Although most are Democrats, there is one Republican: State Auditor Les Merritt.

They also endorsed several other incumbents: Attorney General Roy Cooper, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson and Appeals Court Judges John Arrowood, Doug McCullough, Linda Stephens and Jim Wynn.  

The others: Beverly Perdue for governor, Walter Dalton for lieutenant governor, Wayne Goodwin for insurance commissioner, Ronnie Ansley for agriculture commissioner, Mary Fant Donnan for labor commissioner, Suzanne Reynolds for Supreme Court and Kristin Ruth for Appeals Court.

SEANC, which is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, has 55,000 members.

The labor commissioner race had the lowest turnout on May 6.

Among the nine statewide races in the Democratic primary, the race between John C. Brooks and Mary Fant Donnan drew the lowest number of voters.

At 1.2 million votes, it was about 76 percent of the turnout of the presidential race. 

In order of turnout, the presidential race was followed by governor, U.S. senator, lieutenant governor, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, auditor, insurance commissioner and labor commissioner.

Attorney General Roy Cooper, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Agriculture Commissioner candidate Ronnie Ansley did not have primary opposition. 

Barack Obama will give a speech on the economy at the N.C. State Fairgrounds today.

Dome is at the event, where doors opened about a half hour ago.

So far, we've spotted a few of the usual suspects: U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, state Sen. Floyd McKissick, state Reps. Dan Blue and Ty Harrell, former lieutenant governor candidate Hampton Dellinger, former Raleigh City Councilman Brad Thompson and Capstrat founder Ken Eudy.

The campaign of Sen. Janet Cowell, who is running for state treasurer and lives nearby, is handing out fliers at the front of the Exposition Center building.

Update: Also in the crowd: Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, House Speaker Joe Hackney, Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, superdelegate David Parker, former state Auditor Ralph Campbell, state Reps. Linda Coleman and Jennifer Weiss, and Raleigh businessman John Crumpler.

State Treasurer Richard Moore just wandered through the press section by mistake and Dome asked what he was doing in our less illustrious section of the room.

"I don't know, but I'm going to do my best to get out of here," he said. 

John C. Brooks will run on his experience.

The former labor commissioner said today that he will focus on his 16 years in office in a primary runoff against Mary Fant Donnan to regain his old job.

Brooks, who served from 1977 to 1993, noted that the rest of the Democratic slate for Council of State positions will have only 32 collective years of statewide experience, counting Attorney General Roy Cooper's and Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's eight years, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall's 12 years and Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson's four years. 

(That's actually a little generous, since Atkinson didn't take office until August of 2005.)

Brooks said he would add more experience to the Democratic ticket.

"Their cumulative experience on the Council of State is the lowest it's been in the last 75 years," he said. (Partly because of the loss of more than two decades from Insurance Commissioner Jim Long, Dome would like to note.) "If I'm added to the slate, I'll add 50 percent more experience." 

Needless to say, Donnan has never held statewide elected office.

The races for open seats for lieutenant governor and state treasurer could be close contests, according to the latest results from Public Policy Polling.

But while most incumbents for Council of State offices enjoy "solid leads" in the latest survey, State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican, trails Democratic challenger Beth Wood.

PPP surveyed 616 likely voters on May 8-9. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

The full results in the various Council of State races after the jump:

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Which endorsements would matter in North Carolina?

As noted previously, most of the state's elected Democrats have stayed on the sidelines in the fight between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

As the May 6 primary approaches, both sides will be looking for some local help. Here are five endorsements that could make a difference, and which way they might be leaning:

John Edwards: He's a national figure, he still controls 26 delegates and he's got time to campaign. He's not been interested so far, but can he avoid the circus when it's in his backyard? He went after Clinton in the campaign, but that may have been purely tactical.

Mike Easley: He's a popular second-term governor who occasionally seems to be interested in another job. A crucial nod — something more than a pronoun slip — could put him in good stead. A centrist Democrat, he would seem to be in tune with Clinton.

Jim Hunt: He's a popular former four-term governor who still works behind the scenes in state politics. A veteran campaigner, he'd be a good surrogate on the stump. As a Southern governor, he has close ties to the Clintons.

Mel Watt: As the former head of the Congressional Black Caucus, he's a well-known figure in state and national politics. The former campaign manager for U.S. Senate candidate Harvey Gantt, he's expressed doubts that America's ready for a black president.

David Price: He's the dean of the Democratic Congressional delegation. He's been active with the Democratic Leadership Council and worked with Bill Clinton in the 1990s, but his base in Chapel Hill likely leans toward Obama.

Others that could be a score for either campaign: Attorney General Roy Cooper, gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue or Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

Gov. Mike Easley didn't show up at the Council of State meeting this morning.

His absence was a disappointment to the handful of reporters hoping to grab the elusive governor for a question or two. Easley refused to talk to N&O reporters Pat Stith, Michael Biesecker and Lynn Bonner for a series on failed mental health reform in North Carolina.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall chaired the meeting.

Update: Easley will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. in the Capitol Building. 

Who got more votes in 2000?

Democratic gubernatorial candidates Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore ran their first statewide races that year for open seats.

According to results from the state's Board of Elections, Moore received 1,539,761 votes for state treasurer, and Perdue got 1,500,206 votes for lieutenant governor.

Advantage: Moore, by 39,555 votes.

At the same time, 84,420 more votes were cast in Perdue's race than Moore's. The lieutenant governor race trailed only the presidential and gubernatorial races in number of votes cast, while the treasurer's race placed seventh.

Moore also led Perdue in vote percentage received. With 55.3 percent, he trailed only President George W. Bush and Insurance Commissioner Jim Long.

Perdue placed sixth with 52.3 percent, behind Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Ward. Governor Mike Easley was close behind, with 52 percent.

A complicating factor: A Reform candidate in the lieutenant governor race garnered 50,352 votes, or 1.7 percent. No third party candidate ran for treasurer that year.

Who got more votes in 2004?

Both Democratic gubernatorial candidates, Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore, were on the ballot in statewide races that year.

According to results from the State Board of Elections, Perdue got 1,888,397 votes in the lieutenant governor's race, while Moore got 1,812,201 votes in the state treasurer's race.

Advantage: Perdue, by 76,196 votes.

That's largely because her office has a higher profile. Among the dozen statewide offices on the ballot that year, the race for lieutenant governor had the fourth most votes cast—just below those cast for president, governor and senator.

The treasurer's race, by contrast, was ninth, just above the contests for labor commisisoner, superintendent of public instruction and state auditor.

Put another way, 73,650 fewer people voted in the treasurer's race.

On a percentage basis, Perdue is still slightly ahead. The biggest margins for winners that year went to Insurance Commissioner Jim Long, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, President George W. Bush, Gov. Mike Easley and Attorney General Roy Cooper.

At 55.6 percent, Perdue had the sixth largest margin, while Moore had the seventh with 54.5 percent.

A complicating factor: A Libertarian candidate received 56,638 votes, or 1.7 percent in the lieutenant governor's race, but no third-party candidate ran for treasurer. 

The N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers has announced its support of five judicial candidates and three Council of State candidates.

The Academy endorsed Janet Cowell for state Treasurer and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Insurance Commissioner Jim Long received its endorsement for re-election.

The group also will back Court of Appeals incumbents Chief Judge John Martin, Judge James A. Wynn Jr., and Judge Linda Stephens, as well as Supreme Court challenger Suzanne Reynolds and Court of Appeals challenger Wake County District Court Judge Kristin Ruth.

Previously, the group endorsed Beverly Perdue for governor.

Academy Chief Executive Officer Dick Taylor said the Academy will consider more endorsements as the campaign season continues.