2026 Williams Mullen North Carolina General Elections Report

General Elections were held across the state yesterday, as North Carolinians cast their ballots for various local, state and federal races. In addition to an open U.S. Senate seat, North Carolina’s 14 U.S. House seats, all 170 seats in the state legislature, four statewide judicial seats and three constitutional amendments were on the ballot.                     

It was a very good night for Democrats in the Old North State, as the party won the open U.S. Senate seat, took ten of the 14 congressional seats, captured the House by picking up twenty-two seats, closed the Republican majority in the Senate to 26-24, and swept the four statewide judicial races. 

Prior to the election, Senate Republicans had exactly a three-fifths majority, the margin necessary to override a gubernatorial veto. The GOP majority in the House was one vote short of this threshold but was able to court the votes of one or more Democrats and/or unaffiliated members on certain legislation. Thus, legislative Republicans were able to either avoid the Governor’s veto or override it in a handful of instances. 

An important point to make is that the results from election night are technically unofficial. After each county’s board of elections has determined that votes have been counted and tabulated correctly, then the official election results are authenticated. During this process, which is referred to as a canvass, elections officials count absentee ballots received before the deadline and research provisional ballots to determine whether they should be counted. The county boards of elections meet on the 10th day after the November general election, which is November 13^th this year, to complete the canvass. 

In the event of a close election, North Carolina law allows candidates to request a recount following the completion of county canvasses. Candidates have the option of requesting a recount if the margin of victory is less than 0.5% of the total votes cast or 10,000 votes for statewide races, or less than 1% for non-statewide races. A recount request must be submitted in writing to the applicable county board by 5 p.m. on Monday, November 16. Pending the canvasses, five races in the House and one in the Senate could be heading for a recount. 

Trends 

More than 2.8 million North Carolinians chose to cast their ballots for the 2026 General Election during the early voting period, surpassing early voting turnout in the 2022 General Election. Registered Democrats led early voting participation, casting 38.36% of the total ballots. Unaffiliated voters trailed behind at 35.17%, and registered Republicans made up 26% of the early vote share.

The percentage of North Carolinians registered as “unaffiliated” (40.15%) continues to surpass those registered Republican (29.52%) and registered Democrat (29.68%). 

Ultimately over 4.2 million ballots were cast in the elections. 

U.S. Senate 

The retirement of U.S. Senator Thom Tillis created an open seat, as both parties vied for control of the U.S. Senate. Former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee Chair and North Carolina Republican Party Chair, 58.7% to 39.1%. Cooper, a native of Nash County, held a double-digit lead over Whatley heading into early voting. 

Cooper’s victory marks an end to a historic drought, as he becomes the first Democratic U.S. Senator in North Carolina since 2008. North Carolina is traditionally regarded as a battleground state, and this year’s U.S. Senate race was one of the six GOP-controlled seats Democrats were hoping to flip. 

U.S. House 

Perhaps the surprise of the night was the performance of Democrats in the congressional races. Going into the evening, all eyes were on the congressional races in the 1^st and 11^th Districts. Not only did Democratic candidates win those races but Republican incumbents in five other districts appear to have lost their reelection bids. Assuming the election night results stand, the Democrats will pick up six seats and hold ten of the 14 Congressional seats. 

1st District

State lawmakers redrew and approved new congressional maps during the 2025 long session of the North Carolina General Assembly. The new map changed the 1st Congressional District’s political makeup, making it more favorable to Republicans. Despite this, incumbent Rep. Don Davis narrowly defeated Republican Laurie Buckhout 50.1% to 46.8%. Rep. Davis is an Air Force veteran, an educator and a minister. Davis began his political career as the Mayor of Snow Hill, a small town in Greene County, before serving six terms in the North Carolina State Senate. Davis was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022 to serve this eastern North Carolina Congressional District, which encompasses both coastal areas and farmland. Buckhout is a retired Army colonel and founder of Corvus Consulting, an electronic warfare strategic consulting group. She also served in the Trump administration as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy. Ad spending in this rematch of the 2024 race totaled at least $52.9 million.

5th District 

Democrat Chuck Hubbard of Wilkesboro leads Rep. Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk, 48.70% to 48.66%, a margin of 99 votes out of more than 278,000 cast between the two. Foxx has held the seat since 2004 and chaired the House Rules Committee. A recount is likely once provisional ballots are counted. Hubbard spent 40 years as a journalist at the Wilkes Journal-Patriot and has never held elected office. He previously lost a 2022 bid for the N.C. House. He serves on the boards of Wilkes Recovery Revolution, the Wilkes Child Abuse Prevention Team, and the Wilkes Prison Ministry.

6th District 

High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson defeated first-term Congressman Addison McDowell of Bermuda Run, 51.1% to 48.9%. Jefferson is a former music teacher and high school band director.

9th District 

Democrat Richard Ojeda of Aberdeen defeated seven-term Rep. Richard Hudson of Southern Pines, 51.1% to 48.9%. Hudson chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, and Republicans had won the seat in every election since 1962. Ojeda is a retired Army major who served 24 years with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He previously was elected to the West Virginia State Senate from 2016 to 2019 before moving back to North Carolina.

13th District 

Democrat Paul Barringer of Sanford defeated first-term Congressman Brad Knott of Raleigh, a former federal prosecutor, 50.5% to 48.1%. Barringer is an attorney and health care consultant who moved back to Lee County where he manages the family's tree-farming business. 

14th District 

Democrat LaKesha Womack of Charlotte defeated first-term Rep. Tim Moore of Kings Mountain, 51.1% to 48.9%. Moore is the former Speaker of the N.C. House. Womack is a business consultant and chief strategy officer at ASPIRE Community Capital, a community development financial institution. 

11th District

After a months-long investigation by the House Ethics Committee into allegations he sexually harassed two female staff members, Representative Chuck Edwards dropped his re-election bid in August. Republican State Representative Jennifer Balkcom of Henderson County was chosen by GOP leaders in the 11^th Congressional District to run for the open seat. Ultimately, Democratic nominee Jamie Ager bested Balkcom 57.1% to 41.3% for the 11^th District, which covers 16 counties in the western part of the state. Ager is a fourth-generation farmer and owner of Hickory Nut Gap, a sustainable meat company in southeastern Buncombe County. He is no stranger to North Carolina politics; his grandfather, Jamie Clark, served in the U.S. Congress and the state legislature. His father, John Ager, served in the state House seat now held by Jamie’s older brother, Eric Ager.

Below is a summary of the congressional winners:

State Senate 

Republicans in the North Carolina Senate, who were defending a 30-seat supermajority heading into the election, appear to have lost four seats to Democrats yesterday. 

4th District 

Jess Rivera, a marine and barber in Wilson, upset incumbent Republican Buck Newton 51.1% to 48.9% to flip this seat comprised of Greene, Wayne and Wilson Counties. Newton, a lawyer from Wilson, has been heavily involved in energy policy and judicial matters. 

7th District 

Incumbent Republican Senator Michael Lee was defeated by Democrat Jessica Bichler 52.6% to 47.4% in the 7^th District, which covers most of New Hanover County. Lee has chaired the Senate’s Budget Committee and Higher Education Committee and is currently the Senate Majority Leader. Bichler owns a yoga studio in Wilmington. 

11th District

Democrat James Gailliard, a pastor and former two-term member of the House, bested Republican Senator Lisa Barnes 51.4% to 46.3%. Barnes, a Nash County native, served three terms in the Senate and previously served one term in the House. Gailliard will return to the legislature to represent Senate District 11, which comprises Franklin, Nash and Vance Counties. 

24th District 

In the closest Senate race of the evening, incumbent Republican Danny Britt leads Catina Hamm by 268 votes. This total is within the margin for a discretionary recount. Britt, a lawyer from Lumberton, has been a leader on criminal law legislation and chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hamm is a retired U.S. Army veteran and a licensed respiratory therapist.

34th District 

Democrat April Cook secured a seat in the upper chamber by besting former GOP House member Kevin Crutchfield 57.7% to 42.3% in this district which comprises part of Cabarrus County. Cook is co-founder and executive director of the Lake Norman Community Health Clinic, now the Cook Community Clinic. She is also CEO of the NC Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. 

State House 

Democrats had a very successful night in the House as they picked up 22 seats. Going into the election Republicans held a 71-49 majority. The unofficial results from election night have Democrats holding 71 seats, Republicans 48, with one unaffiliated member. There are five races that are close enough to merit a potential recount. Republicans trail in all five. 

With the Democrats taking control of the House, Representative Robert Reives is presumptively the next Speaker. Reives is a lawyer from Chatham County who has served as the Democrat Leader in the House. 

The following incumbents were defeated yesterday: 

• Bill Ward (R-Pasquotank) 
• Tim Reeder (R-Pitt)
• Allen Chesser (R-Nash) 
• Donna White (R-Johnston) 
• Mike Schietzelt (R-Wake) 
• Erin Pare (R-Wake) 
• Diane Wheatley (R-Cumberland)
• Alan Branson (R-Guilford) 
• John Blust (R-Guilford) 
• Dennis Riddell (R-Alamance) 
• Jonathan Almond (R-Cabarrus) 
• Jeff Zenger (R-Forsyth)
• Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) 
• Brian Echevarria (R-Cabarrus) 
• Ray Pickett (R-Watauga) 
• Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) 
• Donnie Loftis (R-Gaston) 
• Anna Ferguson (R-Swain)

Judiciary 

Yesterday’s ballot included one seat on the Supreme Court and three seats on the Court of Appeals. Going into the general election, Republican justices outnumbered Democratic Justices five to two on the Supreme Court, while 12 of the 15 Judges on the Court of Appeals were GOP members. 

North Carolina Supreme Court

This year’s contest for the North Carolina Supreme Court drew extraordinary attention, but former Representative Sarah Stevens’ campaign struggled to keep pace with Democratic incumbent Anita Earls in fundraising. Earls raised roughly $7.3 million over the election cycle compared to $559,000 for Stevens. In September, a left-leaning group called N.C. Families First launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign against Stevens.

Ultimately, Earls defended her seat from Stevens by a vote of 58.9% to 41.1%. Earls is a former civil rights attorney who founded the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. This will be her second eight-year term on the state’s highest court. 

Stevens, a graduate of Campbell University School of Law, served as the president of the Surry County Bar Association and maintained a private law practice for over 30 years. During her time representing House District 90 (Surry, Wilkes), Stevens served as House Speaker Pro Tempore and chaired committees focused on judiciary and election law issues. She served nine terms in the House before resigning in June to focus on her campaign for a seat on the state’s highest court. 

Although the outcome of this year’s contest did not change the five to two Republican majority, the result has a major impact as Democrats and Republicans battle for seats on the bench heading into the end of the decade. In 2028 Democrats will need to flip two GOP-held seats, as opposed to three, to win back control of the court. Whichever party is in control by the end of the decade will help shape the balance of power for the following decade, as the court will most likely be asked to review the redistricting of congressional and legislative maps after the 2030 Census.

North Carolina Court of Appeals

In addition to the Supreme Court race, voters also chose three judges for the state Court of Appeals. Prior to the election, all three of these seats were held by Democrats, and two of the incumbents sought re-election.

Democratic incumbent John Arrowood defeated Republican challenger and Administrative Law Judge Michael Byrne 56.8% to 43.2% for Seat One. Arrowood has served on the Court of Appeals since 2017 after serving previously from 2007 to2008.

For Seat Two, Democratic incumbent Toby Hampson bested Republican challenger George Bell, securing 56.8% of the vote. Hampson has served on the Court of Appeals for more than seven years. Before seeking election to the Court of Appeals, Bell served as a Superior Court Judge in Charlotte. 

Seat Three was claimed by Christine Walczyk, a Wake County District Court Judge. Walczyk captured 57.1% of the vote, defeating Craig Collins, a Superior Court Judge from Gaston County. 

As a result, the 12 to three Republican majority remains in place.

These results are summarized below:

Constitutional Amendments 

North Carolina voters approved three constitutional amendments yesterday. 

The first, which North Carolinians approved 59.6% to 40.4%, extends voter identification requirements to absentee mail-in ballot voters. Although North Carolina already has a voter ID requirement, the amendment places the requirement for all voting methods in the state constitution.

The other two amendments, which pertained to state income and local property taxes, sparked opposition campaigns just before early voting began. Down Home NC, focusing on rural areas, and Carolina Federation, focusing on metropolitan areas, joined together to knock on 500,000 doors urging voters to vote against the tax amendments. The groups also hosted several town halls across the state.

Despite these efforts, 61.9% of voters approved the second proposed amendment on the ballot, which will cap the state income tax at 3.5%. The previous constitutional cap was 7% and the current rate is 3.99% and is slated to drop to 3.49% in 2027.

To address growing concerns surrounding increased property taxes across the state, the remaining question asked voters to amend the constitution to require limits on local property taxes. The amendment was approved 60.4% to 39.6%, and the state legislature will now be required to set limits on property tax increases by local governments.