The top two finishers in the North Carolina Democratic Senate primary are headed to a June 22 runoff to decide who faces Republican Sen. Richard Burr in the general election. The AP called the race shortly before 10 p.m. with Secretary of State Elaine Marshall leading with 37% of the vote -- 3 points shy of the 40% necessary to win the primary outright.

Finishing second and now facing Marshall in the runoff is former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, who had 27% of the vote with 72 of the state's 100 counties reporting their results. Attorney Ken Lewis had 17%.

Cunningham should perhaps thank the larger-than-expected take of the other three Democrats in the race -- Marcus Williams, Ann Worthy and Susan Harris. They combined to win 19%, some of which Marshall could have used to put her over the hump.

The result is still somewhat of a win for Marshall, who was shunned by the national party in favor of Cunningham, as well as several other higher profile
Democrats who opted against running.

Whoever wins the primary will have a difficult race on their hands against the incumbent Burr. Republicans will surely tie them to the unpopular Democratic leaders who currently are in charge of Congress.

"No matter who ultimately wins the Democrat nomination, the contrast in this campaign will be clear for North Carolina voters on Election Day," said NRSC Chairman John Cornyn. "Both Cunningham and Marshall have clearly stated that they will serve as another rubberstamp for President Obama and Harry Reid's deeply unpopular agenda if elected to the U.S. Senate."

Still, President Obama in 2008 became the first Democrat to win the state since 1976. If Democrats can find a way to motivate the base, especially African American voters who made up 23% of the electorate in 2008, this could be one Senate race Dems picks up in what appears to be a bad year for the party.

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