14 Republicans named for North Carolina presidential primary

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — Get ready for a long list of Republican presidential candidates on North Carolina’s March 15 primary ballot.

The state Republican Party submitted Wednesday to the State Board of Elections 14 names that GOP primary voters could choose from.

North Carolina law directs parties to provide slates of candidates by next week. Democrats already submitted three names.

The Republican names proposed are Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Donald Trump.

The law says lists must be comprised of candidates whose candidacies are “generally advocated and recognized in the news media” throughout the country or in North Carolina.

The election board meets Jan. 5 to finalize the ballot names.

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