North Carolina Senate Election: AP Projects Cooper Wins, Flipping Seat for Democrats
The Associated Press projected on the evening of November 3 that Democratic candidate Roy Cooper has won North Carolina's U.S. Senate race, defeating Republican Michael Whatley. The seat was held by Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who is retiring, so Cooper's victory flips it to the Democrats.
The AP called the race at about 8:23 p.m. Eastern. In the AP's latest count, 1,488 of North Carolina's 2,626 precincts had reported, or 56.66%, with an estimated 83.84% of the total vote counted; Cooper had 2,011,031 votes to Whatley's 1,287,081, with Libertarian and Green candidates also on the ballot at low shares. Counting is continuing; the figures are unofficial and final results are subject to certification by the state board of elections.
Cooper served two terms as governor of North Carolina, from 2017 to 2025, and previously as state attorney general. Whatley, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, was the Republican nominee. North Carolina was one of the key battlegrounds in this year's fight for control of the U.S. Senate, and this was the Democrats' first pickup of a Republican-held Senate seat in this election.
The Senate race was held statewide on the same day as the governor's and U.S. House elections, with Raleigh as the state capital.
Related: North Carolina Senate Race in National Spotlight: Cooper Faces Whatley
(Source: Associated Press)
Source: Associated Press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Raleigh 的北卡罗来纳州议会大厦（资料图）。照片：Daderot，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh (file photo). Photo by Daderot, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
