Two lawmakers made their cases Wednesday for or against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in North Carolina.

"This is one of the best tobacco-control programs in the Southeast and hands down the strongest among the six major tobacco-producing states," Ribisl said.

"We need to do everything we can to create jobs," said Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank. "We can't do enough this year to create jobs."

Even before the opening of polls at 6:30AM Tuesday, the most significant primary in at least two decades has already brought signs of record turnout.