RALEIGH – Nearly all of the 13 congressional districts in North Carolina are considered to be relatively safe seats for either Republican or Democratic candidates. We’ve gone from a state that hosted some of the most competitive races in the country in the 1980s and early 1990s to a state where at best two or three seats, and more likely just one, are truly in play for either party on any given Election Day.

In a couple of recent syndicated columns, I profiled some of the hottest congressional primaries across the state this year, focusing on open seats where the dominant party’s primary on July 20 is essentially the general election (the 5th the 10th Districts for the Republicans and the 1st District for the Democrats). I also took a look at two districts where some partisan believe the incumbent might be beaten in November: Republican Robin Hayes in the 8th District stretching along the South Carolina border from the outskirts of Charlotte to the outskirts of Fayetteville and Democrat Brad Miller in the 13th stretching along the Virginia border from Raleigh to Greensboro.

Today, my purpose is to update some of my previous analysis and take a quick look at some of the other July 20 primaries in districts where the nominees might well be longshots in November but who at least notice and credit for being willing to seek public office and argue their case before the voters.

First, in the 8th District’s Democratic primary, “West Wing” production staffer and former beauty queen Beth Troutman has successfully tapped some of her Hollywood friends and acquaintances for campaign cash. Donors include Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Blythe Danner, and Dana Delaney. Her primary opponent, former Green Party treasurer Mark Ortiz, hasn’t yet meet the threshold of $5,000 that would trigger a required campaign report.

Even though I saw some Ortiz signs during a recent trip through the district, and would dearly love to see him in action in the general election, I’d have to assume Rep. Hayes will be facing Troutman in the fall.

Meanwhile, in the 13th District, I previously wrote about the Republican contest between Graham Boyd and Virginia Johnson. Boyd, who ran for agriculture commissioner as a Democrat in 2000 and hails from Wake County, just started a series of radio ads touting his conservative credentials and the fact that he is from Wake, where half of the district’s voters reside. What he’s not saying explicitly, but underlining nonetheless, is that Johnson is a resident of Greensboro, where only a fifth of the voters live, and spent many years working on Capitol Hill in Washington. In 2002, Greensboro candidates didn’t fare well in the Democratic primary for this seat, allow Raleigh’s Brad Miller to prevail.

But Johnson is actually running a strong campaign in Wake County. I’ve seen lots of yard signs for her in Republican-leaning North Raleigh, and she has been endorsed by several key Raleigh-area GOP leaders, including Rep. Russell Capps, former Mayor Paul Coble, and former Sen. Jesse Helms. She’s also apparently outraised Boyd in campaign donations by a significant margin. This is turning out to be a real contest.

Now, a quick look at some other congressional primaries:

• 2nd District: Democratic incumbent Bobby Etheridge will face the winner of a Republican primary between state Rep. Billy Creech or Robert Rogan in this district encompassing parts of the Triangle and Eastern NC. Johnston County’s Creech is the more seasoned politician, better-known, likely the nominee. Rogan’s campaign is pro forma. Creech would probably still be in the legislative game if Democrats and Richard Morgan had not redistricted him into a primary with Rep. Leo Daughtry.

• 4th District: Democratic incumbent David Price will face the winner of a Republican primary in this Triangle district among Todd Batchelor, Howard Mason, James Powers, and Whit Whitfield. Batchelor works as a bid administrator in the Fuquay-Varina corrections company run by Bob Barker, a key Wake County Republican activist and donor. He served in the U.S. Navy. His signature issue is taxation. Mason is a traditional conservative and longtime activist, including for the cause of replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax. A native of Ohio, he formerly founded and ran a machine-tool company. Whitfield is another movement conservative in the race, an attorney and Vietnam veteran. He’s already running hard against Price, rhetorically spanking him for voting for tax increases, congressional pay raises, and gun control.

• 6th District: Republican incumbent Howard Coble will face the winner of a Democratic primary between William Jordan and Rick Miller in this Eastern Triad district. Jordan is a Greensboro attorney who criticizes Coble for having voted to authorize an “ill-advised” U.S. military action in Iraq and says he will investigate “war profiteering” if elected in November. Miller is a utility-line worker and former supporter of Republican candidates who now says he respects John Edwards and agrees with his “two Americas” theme. He would repeal Bush’s tax cuts “for the wealthy” while increasing the federal tax exemption for lower-income families.

• 11th District: Republican incumbent Charles Taylor will face the winner of a Democratic primary between Patsy Keever and Clyde Michael Morgan in this mountain district in and around Asheville. Keever is a retired teacher and three-term member of the Buncombe County Commission. She wants to roll back Bush’s tax cuts and put more federal dollars in education and job training. You know, the usual. Morgan says he’s a Democrat “with a lot of Libertarian beliefs.” He blames big government and big business for encroaching on personal freedom. He’s pro-abortion rights and pro-gun rights. He’s for decriminalization of drugs.

• 12th District: Incumbent Democrat Mel Watt faces a primary challenge from Kim Holley. The winner will take on Republican and Salisbury physician and school-board member Ada Fischer in this snake-like district that runs from Charlotte to Greensboro and includes many black neighborhoods. Watt was first elected to this district in 1992, after managing former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt’s U.S. Senate campaign in 1990 and serving a single term in the state senate. He is a reliably liberal vote on foreign policy, federal spending and taxes, capital punishment, and other issues. Holley is an educator and businesswoman with no previous electoral experience or clear campaign message.

Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of Carolina Journal.