On February 7, the North Carolina State Board of Elections said these presidential candidates will be on presidential primary ballots: the Democratic Party ballot will only contain President Obama’s name; the Republican Party ballot will list Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum; and the Libertarian Party ballot will list Roger Gary, R. J. Harris, Gary Johnson, Carl Person, Bill Still, and Lee Wrights.

North Carolina’s Board of Elections asks the party leadership to tell them which names to list. The party leaders are supposed to choose candidates who are discussed in the media. Any candidate not chosen by the party leadership can still run, but he or she needs 10,000 signatures of party members.

This will be the first time North Carolina has ever held a presidential primary for a party other than the Democratic and Republican Parties. Thanks to Brian Irving for this news.