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The N.C. Board of Elections map showing the results of Tuesday's primary runoff election looks like it's bleeding – but at least it can be said that turnout was not the worst ever.

No one was surprised by the low turnout nor was anyone especially enthused that the record was not set – elections chief Gary Bartlett said Wednesday it was “still a pretty sad display” – but there are a few finer points to the numbers that are of interest.

Everyone following elections knew turnout would be bad, but there are at least a few surprises and unsurprising points that deserve mention.

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint is squaring off against North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr in an intraparty fight that threatens federal legislation on water contamination at Camp Lejeune.

The legislation has languished for years was expected to be voted on in the full Senate this week under an across-the-aisle deal between the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. But a South Carolina senator has blocked the bill, saying he worries about fraud. Read more here.

More political headlines:

--Election night wrap: All eyes turn to November, where Republicans have a good chance of claiming Republican strongholds. Robert Pittenger wins a bitter race in the 8th District and Richard Hudson cruises to victory in the 9th District. 

Almost all voting precincts around the state have reported the results of Tuesday's primary runoff election.

The big winner is Dan Forest, who is leading Tony Gurley by more than a 2-to-1 margin in the race to become the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor this fall, but plenty of others lower on the ticket won out.

Click below to see the results of statewide elections with 87 of 100 counties reporting.

The turnout for Tuesday’s primary runoff is on pace to be the lowest in history and will almost certainly not top 3 percent, said Gary Bartlett, the state’s elections chief. Bartlett had hoped for about a 5 percent turnout.

Just six counties – mostly those affected by Congressional races near Charlotte – are reporting better than a 3 percent turnout. Only 72 people had voted in Hyde County as of early afternoon, 148 in Clay and 67 in Columbus.

That many people “would show up in the first 20 minutes of a presidential election,” Bartlett said, adding that just one-third of votes are usually cast after 2 p.m. “What’s lacking is a top of the ticket like a gubernatorial or U.S. Senate race,” Bartlett said. “It’s really sad to see the turnout being what it is.”

Bartlett said the runoff election will cost about $6 million to 8 million.

A low-interest, mid-summer runoff election forced candidates for the state’s highest posts to scrounge for votes Tuesday like they were searching for loose change in the couch.

Tony Gurley, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, found a steady trickle of voters at Lead Mine Elementary School in Raleigh. He stood in the heat for an hour to shake hands with less than a dozen voters.

A county poll worker said it was the most active voting spot in Wake County with about 60 votes registered at 10 a.m. “That’s why I’m here,” said Gurley, sweating in a white dress shirt and red striped tie. Read more from the polls today.

Democracy NC's Adam Sotak and FairVote's Rob Richie make the case for instant runoff voting: "North Carolina’s primary election on May 8 saw a high turnout, with nearly three times as many voters showing up as in 2010’s primary.

Unfortunately, the primary runoff elections on Tuesday will likely drop to single digit turnout – yet cost N.C. taxpayers well over $4 million. Most of the winners of the 15 runoffs for statewide, congressional and legislative primaries likely will receive fewer votes than their races’ losers received in May." Read the full piece here.

There is a statewide primary election on Tuesday. That will be news to tens of thousands of North Carolinians who have been spending their summer paying little attention to big decisions the ballot tally will make final on Tuesday. The voting will help determine the candidates on November’s ballot for five of North Carolina’s most important public positions. Read more here and check out the voters guide.

More political headlines you may have missed:

--Rob Christensen: Duke Energy seems to have this city politically wired. How else can you explain why North Carolina’s political leadership has gone mute in the face of the Duke-Progress Energy merger blowup? Democratic Gov. Bev. Perdue? Nothing. Gubernatorial candidates Pat McCrory and Walter Dalton – next to nothing. Senate leader Phil Berger or House Speaker Thom Tillis? Who, me?

A month before the July runoff election, a new political committee formed to boost Tony Gurley's Republican bid for lieutenant governor in the Republican primary.

Dubbed "A True Direction," the independent expenditure committee was formed June 28 by Dan Spuller, a Republican operative and former aide to Pat McCrory's campaign. Its initial reports list a $2,500 contribution from Gurley's Medical Supply LLC, a Durham business formed earlier this year by Gurley's brother Danny. 

Spuller said the group is soliciting money from Gurley friends and allies to tout the candidate with positive messaging and "setting the record straight" about his record as a business leader and Wake County commissioner.

WAXHAW--The pavement steamed in the summer heat as Dan Forest’s campaign bus rolled into this small town along the state’s southern border for a Fourth of July parade.

On the route, a man wearing a sweat-drenched baseball hat appeared confused. “I thought elections were in the fall. Anyone know who Dan Forest is? What does the lieutenant governor do?” Such is the life of a candidate in North Carolina’s runoff election. It’s lonely – and hot.

Read about the runoff election and see a breakdown on all the races here.

More political headlines: 

--Rob Christensen: When Andy Griffith helped rescue the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Easley in 2000, it was dubbed the “Mayberry Miracle.” Griffith, who died last week, was Tar Heel Democrats’ political ace in the hole, helping them remain competitive in the state while most of the South went Republican.

The N.C. State Board of Elections certified the results from the May 2012 primary election, a move that enacts the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships in the state.

Five statewide races will officially go to a runoff July 17: Democratic labor commissioner and Republican races for secretary of state, state superintendent, insurance commissioner and lieutenant governor. Two state legislative races were not certified because of pending protests or recounts.

Gary Bartlett, the state elections chief, said two investigation into voter fraud are ongoing.