Democrats in North Carolina will go to the polls for a second time Tuesday.

After May’s primary election, neither of the top candidates for U.S. Senate received the required 40 percent of the vote to secure the Democratic nomination.

That means a runoff election will be held Tuesday where Democrats will choose between Elaine Marshall and Cal Cunningham for the nomination. The winner will advance to the November General Election where they will meet incumbent Republican Senator Richard Burr.

In the May election, Marshall led six candidates for the nomination. She received 154,605 votes compared to 115,851 for Cunningham. Ken Lewis finished third in the primary with 72,510 votes followed by Marcus W. Williams, Susan Harris and Ann Worthy.

Marshall was elected North Carolina Secretary of State in 1997, becoming the first female elected to a statewide executive office in the state.

Cunningham, who is from Lexington, is a former State Senator and Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves, where he served with distinction.

Both have pledged to work together to defeat Burr, no matter who wins the election on Tuesday.

Polls are scheduled to open Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. and will remain open until 7:30 p.m.