Polls open at 6:30 a.m. this morning and close at 7:30 p.m. Voters should go to their normal precincts.
In the U.S. Senate race, Elaine Marshall finished first with 36.36 percent of the Democratic vote with Cal Cunningham finishing second with 27.31 percent. The winner will face Republican Sen. Richard Burr in November.
Closer to home, voters in the Republican primary for the 8th District House seat can select from Tim D'Annunzio who garnered 36.84 percent of the vote in May, followed by Harold Johnson, who took 33.06 percent of the vote. It is also the race that has gotten the lion's share of attention from statewide as well as national media.
The choice seems to have boiled down to Johnson, a candidate some say has a weak grasp on the issues of the 8th District — or Tim D'Annunzio, a candidate with an even weaker grasp on reality, according to his critics.
In a year, when Republicans have a chance to send U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, a first-term incumbent with his own problems, packing, the focus has mainly been on the nasty and equally wacky GOP race.
At the start of 2010, Kissell looked like an easy target. Six Republicans entered the primary and Kissell faced an unsuccessful challenge by fellow Democrat, Nancy Shakir.
Johnson and D'Annunzio were the top vote getters and advanced to today's runoff after D'Annunzio failed to secure the needed 40 percent of the vote.
Both D'Annunzio and Johnson have campaigned using tried and true conservative themes such as cutting taxes and reducing the size of government.
What either candidate would do to bring jobs, economic development or improved infrastructure to the 10-county Congressional District is unclear.
At times, Johnson, a former TV sportscaster, has a hard time displaying the gravitas one might expect of a perspective member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Asked during an interview what issue he would focus his first vote in Washington, Johnson drew a blank.
It has also been pointed out that Johnson did not even live in the 8th District until he moved from Statesville into a townhouse in Concord earlier this year.
Of course, those deficits are minor compared to the controversy that has swirled around the D'Annunzio campaign.
Initially seen as a maverick unafraid to speak his mind and hold the occasional machine gun social, the Raeford businessman's image has gone from non-traditional to nonsensical.
The press has had a field day sifting through D'Annunzio court records and military history.
Some of the documents say D'Annunzio was addicted to heroin as a teenager and, at age 16, cut both of his wrists with a broken bottle.
They claim that he was discharged from the Army after getting caught smoking marijuana.
News reports also claim that D'Annunzio described himself as "a religious zealot" who once called the U.S. government the antichrist.
D'Annunzio has tried to counter the charges by attacking his Republican opponents and the media. To reporters who ask questions he doesn't like, he uses terms like "scumbag" or suggest they "go to hell."
He has filled a lawsuit against Johnson and threatened another lawsuit against state GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer over statements critical of D'Annunzio.
Polls suggest that Johnson will be the likely winner of today's runoff. He certainly has the support of most of the Republican establishment.
“In my best judgment...as I look at their records, their philosophies, and their ability to win this seat back and truly represent the people of North Carolina, Harold Johnson is without question the right candidate to win this seat” said the former 8th District Rep. Robin Hayes.
Maybe, but in a district with as many problems as ours, we can't help wishing that the choice was better.
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