DEMOCRATS

NAME: Bruce Blackmon.

AGE: 90. Born July 13, 1921.

HOMETOWN: Buies Creek.

OCCUPATION: Retired general physician; former director of health services at Campbell University; in recent years, worked in state government to verify disability claims.

PREVIOUS POLITICAL HIGLIGHT: Ran once for Legislature decades ago.

FAMILY: Widower; five children; 10 grandchildren.

___

NAME: Gary Dunn.

AGE: 58. Born March 4, 1954.

HOMETOWN: Matthews.

OCCUPATION: Student, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; works in sales at manufacturing company owned by wife's family; former executive, Dunn Manufacturing.

FAMILY: Wife, YunMei; six children.

PREVIOUS POLITICAL HIGHLIGHT: Ran for Republican nomination for governor in 1992, finishing third.

___

NAME: Gardenia Henley.

AGE: 56. Born Nov. 18, 1955.

HOMETOWN: Winston-Salem.

OCCUPATION: Retired inspector general, U.S. Department of State's Agency for International Development; Air Force veteran.

FAMILY: Divorced.

PREVIOUS POLITICAL HIGHLIGHT: Ran unsuccessfully for North Carolina state House in 2010.

___

LIBERTARIAN

NAME: Barbara Howe.

AGE: 59. Born Feb. 13, 1953.

HOMETOWN: Oxford.

OCCUPATION: Homemaker; volunteer for La Leche League, a breastfeeding support organization.

FAMILY: Husband, Tom; three children.

PREVIOUS POLITICAL HIGHLIGHT: Previous Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in 1998, governor in 2000 and 2004 and state House in 2010; campaign manager for 2008 party gubernatorial nominee Mike Munger.

___

REPUBLICANS

NAME: Jim Harney.

AGE: 48. Born Sept. 19, 1963.

HOMETOWN: Fayetteville.

OCCUPATION: Owner of Harney Designs, a promotional advertising business; Army veteran.

FAMILY: Divorced; three children.

PREVIOUS POLITICAL HIGHLIGHT: First run for elective office.

____

NAME: Scott Jones.

AGE: 39. Born Aug. 23, 1972.

HOMETOWN: Greensboro.

OCCUPATION: Works at family landscaping company; former emergency medical services instructor and firefighter.

FAMILY: Wife, Robin; two children ages 12 and 18.

PREVIOUS POLITICAL HIGHLIGHT: First run for elective office.

____

NAME: Jim Mahan.

AGE: 73. Born July 29, 1938.

HOMETOWN: Denver.

OCCUPATION: Real estate agent; businessman, including founder of cosmetics company; retired public school educator.

FAMILY: Divorced; four children, one of them deceased.

PREVIOUS POLITICAL HIGHLIGHT: Ran unsuccessfully for North Carolina state House in 1970.

___

Name: Charles Kenneth Moss.

AGE: 73. Born March 18, 1939.

HOMETOWN: Randleman.

OCCUPATION: Owner of tackle and bait shops, automobile service center and real estate.

FAMILY: Wife, Janet; four children.

PREVIOUS POLITICAL HIGHLIGHT: Ran unsuccessfully for North Carolina state Senate in 2004 as Democrat; former soil and water conservation district member.

____

NAME: Paul Wright.

AGE: 64. Born March 21, 1948.

HOMETOWN: Dudley.

OCCUPATION: Lawyer; former District Court and Superior Court judge.

FAMILY: Widower. Six children, four still living at home.

PREVIOUS POLITICAL HIGHLIGHT: Won three previous contested elections, lost in bid for state Court of Appeals.

END