The race for the 30th District seat in the N.C. Senate is down to two, after incumbent Don East and Ric Marshall handily won primaries Tuesday for the right to represent their respective parties in the November general election.

Sen. East defeated Paul Johnson, a member of the Surry County Board of Commissioners, in the Republican primary by a count of 7,809 to 2,846. That includes unofficial vote totals from the four counties included in the district — Surry, Stokes, Alleghany and Yadkin.

East, a veteran senator who lives in Pilot Mountain, captured 73 percent of the vote in winning all four counties from Johnson, of Westfield, climaxing a race that grew bitter at times.

Marshall won the Democratic Senate primary over Robert Nickell by an unofficial total of 3,519 to 1,143 in the four counties. Marshall, an Ararat resident, captured 75 percent of the vote in defeating Nickell, who lives on the Stokes County side of Westfield.

“Trust Factor” A Key

Joking Tuesday night that he “managed to squeak by,” East attributed his victory to the trust he has established with voters over six previous terms in the N.C. General Assembly.

“It’s totally and thoroughly the trust factor,” the incumbent said, reflecting a stance throughout the campaign that voters in the district want to keep a conservative voice in Raleigh.

“I still maintain that the people in this area have learned to trust me,” East added. “They know I’m not going to lie to them, I’m not going to shoot them a bunch of crap — I’m going to be straight with them.”

East also criticized the effort mounted by his opponent to unseat him, which included Johnson charging that the 65-year-old senator had lost his passion and desire to serve effectively.

“Paul Johnson ran a lousy campaign,” said East, a part-time farmer who is a retired police officer. “Anything that could go wrong went wrong in Paul Johnson’s campaign.” Among those setbacks were controversial postings on Johnson’s Facebook.com page, including one in which he referred to each of the two Democratic candidates as a “dumb***.”

It also was disclosed Monday that Johnson is being fined by the state Board of Elections for not filing campaign-finance reports in a timely manner.

When asked if he believes the area Republican Party can recover from the bitter campaign and become unified for the general election, East referred to the relatively small number of votes garnered by his opponent. “I’m not worried about whether I get his support or if his people will support me.”

Johnson was gracious in defeat Tuesday night, although he acknowledged that the campaign got “ugly” along the way.

“I think the people spoke and Sen. East won, and we congratulate him on his victory,” said the challenger, a member of the Surry County Board of Commissioners since 1996. “And now as a party, we unify and we move on to November.”

Johnson continued, “It (the campaign) got a little ugly and a little bit personal at times, but it is over — the people spoke and we’ll move on.”

In analyzing the primary outcome, Johnson said he believed no “one thing” was responsible, but a combination of factors. “I’d say low turnout was part of it,” he said of a figure that was below 10 percent. Johnson thinks voters generally are apathetic and failed to research issues of importance to the district and state.

He said he now will concentrate on his job as a Surry commissioner and continue trying to work with state legislators to help the county.

“Hard Work” Pays Off

In contrast to the East-Johnson battle, the contest between Marshall and Nickell was low-key and absent of mudslinging.

“I thank Mr. Nickell for running a good, clean campaign,” Marshall said Tuesday night.

He credited his victory to “four years of long hard work” that has included unsuccessful bids for the Surry County Board of Commissioners and the N.C. House of Representatives. Marshall explained that the process of getting one’s name before the people and building support can be tough for a candidate.

“It’s been four long years,” he said.

Marshall, a 48-year-old official of Southland Transportation, also acknowledged that his primary outcome was not achieved alone. “My friends have been very supportive,” he said.

“I want to thank everybody that worked the polls for me,” Marshall added. “We had people working at a lot of the polls” beginning early Tuesday morning. The primary victor said he also appreciated all those who voted for him.

In looking ahead to November and the showdown against a longtime incumbent, Marshall says he realizes it will be difficult to unseat East. “It’s going to be a tough race, but we’re going to work as hard as we have been.”

Marshall said his hope for that campaign is “just to keep it clean and just to focus on the issues.” He thinks the key for voters will be focusing on what can be accomplished in the General Assembly, not what hasn’t occurred there.

He is asking voters to research how candidates stand on issues and vote for the person, not the party.

Marshall added that he will continue to make a need for new jobs in the district the hallmark of his campaign.

Nickell could not be reached for comment Tuesday night about the election outcome.

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.