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Durham County voters will decide who is to be their next district attorney. This year, there are three names on the ballot -- current District Attorney Mike Nifong, Durham County Commissioner Lewis Cheek and write-in candidate Steve Monks.

The Duke lacrosse rape case has placed the race in the national spotlight. A woman claims she was raped by three members of the Duke lacrosse team at an off-campus party in March. Nifong is prosecuting the case. The three players indicted in the case have all claimed in interviews, including one on CBS's "60 Minutes" program, that they are innocent.

Nifong had a brief run-in at the polling place with Bob Harris, the play-by-play voice of the Blue Devils, when the prosecutor attempted to shake his hand. The radio announcer jumped into his car and was visibly upset when he noticed a television cameraman filming the exchange. He called county sheriff's deputies, who took no action after they arrived.

"The majority have been very friendly. There have been a few people who have not," a cheerful Nifong said later as he greeted voters in the parking lot of Temple Baptist Church. "There was one guy who came by with a lacrosse T-shirt. I didn't talk to him. I might have prejudged him. I'm not sure."

As he waved at a passing car, he noted with a grin: "That guy just looked at me and shook his head."

Nifong has insisted that the election should not be a referendum on the Duke case. But some voters made it clear that it was.

John Straffin, an information technology analyst at Duke, voted for Monks.

"It was just looking at what each person had to offer and what each person was standing for, and not him," Straffin said, nodding at Nifong nearby.

Cheek collected enough signatures to appear on the ballot, but now says he will not take the job. If Cheek wins, Gov. Mike Easley would likely have to appoint a new district attorney.

Cheek and Monks have said they are unhappy with the way Nifong handled the Duke lacrosse case, but neither has gone on the record saying they are ready to dismiss charges if they beat Nifong.

http://www.wral.com/news/10261400/detail.html