North Carolina 2026 Election Results: Cooper Flips the U.S. Senate Seat, All Three Amendments Pass

Governor and U.S. Senator

North Carolina voted in the 2026 midterm elections on November 3. The results below are the collective choice of the state's voters. According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections' official unofficial count and Associated Press race calls, there was no governor's race this year. Former Gov. Roy Cooper won the open U.S. Senate seat with 58.72%, flipping it from Republican to Democratic. All three constitutional amendments passed. Only 4 of the 14 U.S. House seats have been called; the other 10 are listed with their current leaders only. Democrats flipped control of the state House, ending Republican control of both legislative chambers dating to 2011.

Governor: no election this year. Gov. Josh Stein (D), elected in 2024 to a four-year term, next faces the voters in the 2028 governor's race.

U.S. Senator: Roy Cooper (D, a former governor), 2,467,963 votes, 58.72%, elected — a flip from Republican to Democratic. The AP called the race at 8:24 p.m. ET on November 3. Cooper is the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate election in North Carolina since 2008.

U.S. Senate, other candidates: Michael Whatley (R), 1,643,088 votes, 39.09%; Shannon Bray (Libertarian), 55,726 votes; Michael Dublin (Green), 36,404 votes. The margin was 824,875 votes. The seat was open after Thom Tillis (R) declined to run again; the state's other senator, Ted Budd (R), was not up this year and is next contested in 2028.

Other Statewide Offices

The Council of State offices — lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, superintendent of public instruction, and the agriculture, labor and insurance commissioners — were all elected in 2024 and were not on this ballot; they are next contested in 2028. The incumbents include Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (all D), and Treasurer Brad Briner and Auditor Dave Boliek (both R).

State Supreme Court, Associate Justice Seat 1 (elected statewide): Anita Earls (D, incumbent), 2,456,843 votes, 58.86%, reelected. Sarah Stevens (R) took 1,717,025 votes, 41.14%. The court remains 5-2 Republican.

State Court of Appeals, Seat 1: John S. Arrowood (D, incumbent), 56.77%, reelected.

State Court of Appeals, Seat 2: Tobias (Toby) Hampson (D, incumbent), 56.78%, reelected.

State Court of Appeals, Seat 3: Christine Marie Walczyk (D), 57.11%, elected. All four statewide judicial seats on this ballot were held by the Democratic side, with no flips.

Ballot Questions

Voter ID amendment (SB 921): write the requirement that voters show photo ID into the state constitution and extend it to mail and absentee voting. Yes 2,463,276 votes, 59.60% — passed. Called by the AP.

Income tax cap amendment (SB 1080): lower the constitution's maximum permitted income tax rate from 7% to 3.5%. Yes 2,559,732 votes, 61.92% — passed. Called by the AP.

Local property tax increase limit amendment (HB 1089): require the legislature to enact limits on annual local property tax increases. Yes 2,492,761 votes, 60.42% — passed. Called by the AP.

Those were the ballot's three statewide questions, all constitutional amendments referred by the legislature; local measures such as Raleigh's transportation and housing bonds are not part of this section.

U.S. House

Overview: the state has 14 seats; Republicans held 10 to the Democrats' 4 before the election. The AP has called four seats, all for Democrats; of the 10 uncalled seats, Democrats lead in six and Republicans in four. On the State Board's unofficial lead count the delegation stands at 10 Democrats and 4 Republicans; uncalled seats are listed by leader only, not as won.

District 1: not yet called. Incumbent Don Davis (D), 156,564 votes, 50.07%, leads Laurie Buckhout (R), 46.77%.

District 2: Deborah Ross (D), 245,402 votes, 75.06%, reelected. Called by the AP.

District 3: not yet called. Incumbent Greg Murphy (R), 49.42%, leads Raymond Smith (D), 49.3%, by about 233 votes — inside the 1% recount threshold.

District 4: Valerie Foushee (D), 283,255 votes, 79.12%, reelected. Called by the AP.

District 5: not yet called. Chuck Hubbard (D), 48.70%, leads incumbent Virginia Foxx (R), 48.66%; if his lead holds the seat flips.

District 6: not yet called. Cyril Jefferson (D), 51.14%, leads incumbent Addison McDowell (R), 48.86%; if his lead holds the seat flips.

District 7: not yet called. Incumbent David Rouzer (R), 49.89%, leads Kimberly Hardy (D), about 49.2%.

District 8: not yet called. Incumbent Mark Harris (R), 147,094 votes, 50.39%, leads Colby Watson (D), 48.6%.

District 9: not yet called. Richard Ojeda (D), 138,707 votes, 51.11%, leads incumbent Richard Hudson (R), 132,692 votes, 48.89%; if his lead holds the seat flips.

District 10: not yet called. Incumbent Pat Harrigan (R), 146,166 votes, 49.72%, leads Ashley Bell (D), 143,137 votes, 48.69%.

District 11: Jamie Ager (D), 195,637 votes, about 57.1%, elected over Jennifer Balkcom (R) — a flip. Called by the AP.

District 12: Alma Adams (D), 219,672 votes, 81.20%, reelected. Called by the AP.

District 13: not yet called. Paul Barringer (D), 159,981 votes, 50.50%, leads incumbent Brad Knott (R), 152,329 votes, 48.09%; if his lead holds the seat flips.

District 14: not yet called. Lakesha Womack (D), 147,388 votes, 51.11%, leads incumbent Tim Moore (R), 140,973 votes, 48.89%; if her lead holds the seat flips.

Chinese American / Asian American winners: none among the called winners or district leaders. Indian American candidate Mahesh (Max) Ganorkar (R) took 18.94% in District 4 and was not elected. Asian American wins in the state legislature are noted under State Legislature.

State Legislature

State Senate: all 50 seats were up. Republicans held 30 seats to 20 before the election; on the lead count Democrats hold 24 and Republicans 26 — Republicans keep the majority, but Democrats flipped four seats and broke the Republican supermajority.

State Senate, undecided seat: in District 24, incumbent Danny Britt (R) leads Catina Hamm (D) by 268 votes; if the seat flipped, the Senate would stand 25-25 with the Democratic lieutenant governor casting tie-breaking votes, and a recount is possible.

State House: all 120 seats were up. Republicans held 71 seats to 49 before the election; on the lead count Democrats hold 70, Republicans 49, and one seat is held by unaffiliated April Montgomery (District 51) — Democrats have won the majority and flipped control, and the Republican speaker has acknowledged the change. Democrats flipped about 21 seats, five of them by margins inside 1% that are eligible for recounts.

Asian American winners: state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D), an Indian American, was reelected in state Senate District 15 with about 75%; Haseeb Fatmi (D) won state Senate District 18 with 54.77% over Chris Stock (R), winning election in his own right to the seat he held by appointment.

Counting and Certification

All figures are from the North Carolina State Board of Elections' official unofficial count and AP calls as of the morning of November 4, with 100% of precincts reporting and an estimated 99% of votes counted. County canvasses take place 10 days after the election, on November 13, followed by state certification. The 10 uncalled U.S. House districts and state Senate District 24 await calls, and some districts may face recounts. All results are unofficial until certification. GSM will update this list as the remaining races are called.

Related: 2026 midterm results: all 50 states

Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图片来源：北卡罗来纳州议会大厦（Raleigh），Farragutful 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）

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