Raleigh, N.C. — A pair of Republicans linked by scandal are on different electoral paths tonight.  

Debra Goldman, a Republican Wake County school board member, has been trying to unseat Democratic Auditor Beth Wood. 

With 2.6 million votes counted, Wood leads Goldman with 54 percent of the vote. 

Goldman may have been hurt by by the disclosure of a police report in which she claimed that fellow school board member Chris Malone should have been a suspect in a theft from her home. 

Malone told police that the two had carried on an affair while they were both married to other people. Goldman denied that there was ever a romance and said she rebuffed Malone's advances.

Malone is a candidate in state House district 35, a swing district in northern Wake County. 

While early returns show Goldman headed for a loss, Malone leads Democrat Lori Millberg with 55 percent of the vote with 16 of 18 precincts counted. 

Update: Early vote broke heavily for Millberg, but Malone held onto his lead. Unofficial returns show he held on with 50.6 percent of the vote versus 49.4 percent for Millberg.