Article snippet: RALEIGH, N.C. — A state legislator aided by hardline conservatives on Capitol Hill won the Republican nomination Tuesday for the North Carolina congressional district seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Walter Jones Jr. Voters in the 3rd District GOP primary runoff chose state Rep. Greg Murphy of Greenville over Kinston pediatrician Joan Perry, a first-time candidate backed by groups seeking to increase the number of Republican women in the House. They were the top vote-getters in the 17-candidate party primary in April, with Murphy finishing first but falling short of the threshold to avoid a runoff. Murphy, a urologist serving in the legislature since 2015, won comfortably, according to unofficial results that show he performed strongly in balloting in his home county of Pitt. He now advances to the Sept. 10 special election to take on Democratic nominee Allen Thomas and two other candidates. That winner completes the remainder of Jones’ two-year term. Jones died in February after more than 24 years representing the Republican-leaning 3rd District, which now stretches from Greenville to the Outer Banks and includes military installations like Camp Lejeune. Agriculture, the military and medicine are among the largest industries in a district President Donald Trump won by 24 percentage points in 2016. About 11% of qualified voters in the 17-county 3rd District race cast ballots, according to the State Board of Elections. Washington-based political committees s... Link to the full article to read more