North Carolina voters will narrow down the field of candidates Tuesday in a competitive U.S. Senate race that could decide control of the closely divided chamber in November. Also on the ballot are contested primaries for the U.S. House, state Senate and House, and state Court of Appeals. Even before Republican Sen.
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Here's how to find light in the darkest monthsYoung woman says she was on social media 'all day long' as a child in landmark addiction trialIf you're struggling to lose weight, could chilling your carbs help?Viajeros buscan conexiones tras cierre de gran parte de Oriente Medio al transporte aéreo por guerraOil tankers and refineries under attack as US and Israel exchange strikes with IranThe Afternoon Wire3 US troops killed and 5 are seriously wounded during Iran attacks, military saysColorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder dies in a single-car crash at age 23, police sayComplete list of winners at the 2026 Actor AwardsOil prices rise sharply after attacks in Middle East disrupt global energy supplyViral phenomenon in Argentina has young people identifying themselves as animalsRaccoon goes on drunken rampage in Virginia liquor store and passes out on bathroom floorRamadan Friday prayers at sunrise captured in this extraordinary photoWith only 3 women left, an Amazon tribe faced extinction. An unexpected birth now brings hopeSome people tape their mouths shut at night. Doctors wish they wouldn'tNordic people know how to beat the winter blues. Here's how to find light in the darkest monthsYoung woman says she was on social media 'all day long' as a child in landmark addiction trialIf you're struggling to lose weight, could chilling your carbs help?Viajeros buscan conexiones tras cierre de gran parte de Oriente Medio al transporte aéreo por guerraRepublican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, arrives to an early voting site to cast his vote on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Gastonia, N.C. Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running for U.S. Senate, speaks to reporters after casting his ballot on the first day of in-person early voting in the state’s primary election, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Raleigh, N.C. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, arrives to an early voting site to cast his vote on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Gastonia, N.C. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, arrives to an early voting site to cast his vote on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Gastonia, N.C. Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running for U.S. Senate, speaks to reporters after casting his ballot on the first day of in-person early voting in the state’s primary election, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Raleigh, N.C. Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running for U.S. Senate, speaks to reporters after casting his ballot on the first day of in-person early voting in the state’s primary election, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Raleigh, N.C. that could decide control of the closely divided chamber in November. Also on the ballot are contested primaries for U.S. House, state Senate and House and the state Court of Appeals.last June, North Carolina presented Democrats with one of few opportunities to flip a Republican-held seat in an otherwise difficult electoral map. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the U.S. Senate, and Democrats need a net pickup of four seats to win back the chamber. A dozen candidates – six Republicans and six Democrats – are running to succeed Tillis. Tuesday’s winners will face off in the November general election.for Superintendent of Public Instruction. One former GOP candidate, Margot Dupre, will appear on the ballot, but the state Board of Elections disqualified her candidacy.Congressional primaries will be held on a new map – the state Legislature drew new district boundaries in 2025 as part ofthrough mid-decade redistricting. In the 1st Congressional District, which was redrawn to favor the GOP, five Republicans are running to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis. Laurie Buckhout, who, is running again and faces Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck, state Sen. Bobby Hanig, Lenoir County Commissioner Eric Rouse and attorney Ashley-Nicole Russell in the primary. In the 4th Congressional District in the heavily Democratic Raleigh-Durham area, Democratic U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee faces a primary rematch with Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, who placed second behind Foushee in a crowded 2022 Democratic field that included former American Idol star Clay Aiken. Allam has the endorsement of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Wake and Mecklenburg counties, home to Raleigh and Charlotte, respectively, have the highest populations in the state and tend to contribute the most votes in both Democratic and Republican primaries. Guilford, the third largest county with about half the population of Wake or Mecklenburg, also plays an important role, although it usually takes a backseat to Durham County in Democratic primaries, while Forsyth County tends to be a bigger player in Republican primaries. Trump’s endorsement should prove to be a boon to Whatley in a state where the then-former president carried every county in his 2024 primary against former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. Meanwhile, Cooper carried every county in his 2020 primary reelection bid and all but five small counties in his 2016 primary. In the 4th Congressional District race, challenger Allam carried her home county of Durham – the largest in the district – in the 2022 primary against Foushee, while Foushee prevailed in Orange County and won by wide margins in the district’s four smaller counties. The newly redrawn 4th District still includes Durham and Orange, but it picks up parts of Wake and Chatham counties, while losing the four small counties where Foushee did best. If Allam and Foushee split Durham and Orange by similar margins as in 2022, the result in Wake could be decisive. The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why. In North Carolina primaries, the second-place finisher may request a runoff election if the top vote-getter received less than 30% of the vote. There are no automatic recounts in North Carolina, but candidates may request one if the margin is less than 0.5% of the total votes or 10,000 votes for statewide races or 1% for non-statewide races. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome. Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Desk will monitor as the votes are tallied:The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state Senate, state House and state Court of Appeals.Registered party members may vote only in their own party’s primary. In other words, Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may participate in either primary.As of Feb. 21, there were about 7.7 million registered voters in North Carolina. Registered Republicans slightly outnumbered registered Democrats with both parties at about 2.3 million registered voters each. More than 3 million voters were not registered with any party. In the 2022 U.S. Senate primaries, nearly 765,000 votes were cast in the Republican primary and about 619,000 in the Democratic primary. About 37% of the Republican primary vote and about 46% of the Democratic primary vote were cast before primary day. In this year’s contest, more than 416,000 Democratic primary ballots and nearly 295,000 Republican primary ballots had already been cast as of Saturday.In the 2022 U.S. Senate primaries, the AP first reported results at around 7:50 p.m. ET, or about 20 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 12:25 a.m. ET with more than 99% of total votes counted.Most North Carolina counties release all or nearly all the results from mail and early voting in the first vote updates of the night, before any in-person Election Day results are released.Yoon is an elections and democracy reporter for The Associated Press, with a focus on analyzing vote and demographic data and explaining the intricacies of the electoral process. He is now covering his seventh presidential campaign cycle.
Donald Trump Roy Cooper Michael Whatley North Carolina 2026 Elections Don Brown United States Senate U.S. Democratic Party U.S. Republican Party Associated Press NC State Wire Decision Notes Asa Buck Margot Dupre Bernie Sanders Clay Aiken Bobby Hanig Ashley Nicole Russell Don Davis United States House Of Representatives Valerie Foushee Michele Morrow Government And Politics Eric Rouse Elections Politics
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