Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and Democrat Cal Cunningham made quick work of their primaries Tuesday night and immediately turned their attention to November.
With about 96 percent of precincts reporting, Tillis easily defeated his three challengers, garnering 78 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results.
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On the Democratic side, Cunningham, an attorney and former state lawmaker, was ahead of state Sen. Erica Smith, D-Northampton, by a 57 to 35 percent margin. Three other candidates were all in the single digits.
As with many races across the country, the Senate race is North Carolina amounts to a referendum on President Donald Trump.
Tillis has become one of Trump's biggest cheerleaders in recent months after earlier questioning some of the president's actions, such as declaring a national emergency along the Mexico border to jumpstart his desire to build a wall to stem illegal immigration.
During Trump's Monday night campaign rally in Charlotte, Tillis extolled the president's record on cutting taxes, boosting military spending, putting conservatives on the federal bench and cracking down on illegal immigration.
"I am honored to have earned the Republican nomination tonight and pledge to work as hard as I can to hold this seat and get President Trump re-elected so that we can continue to partner on wins for North Carolinians of all backgrounds and political affiliations," Tillis said in a statement Tuesday.
Cunningham and the other Democrats have bashed Trump's tax cuts, saying they have benefited corporations and wealthy individuals at the expense of others. They also have criticized his decision to pull out of an international deal to combat climate change and repeated attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
"In the push and pull of Washington politics, Thom Tillis has decided there are things more important than representing North Carolina. He has put his own political interests, and serving the special interests, ahead of North Carolina’s interests," Cunningham said Tuesday night. "The fact of the matter is, Washington has broken Thom Tillis. He’s too weak to stand up to his partisan friends and corporate backers, even when it is wrong for our state."
Tillis, for his part, has already tried to link his Democratic challengers to Democratic presidential front-runner Bernie Sanders, saying the ideas they support are far out of the mainstream for North Carolina.
"[N]ow that Mr. Cunningham has vowed to support whoever wins the Democratic nomination for president, this race will certainly be a referendum on the free-market policies that have made this country great and the radical liberal agenda of higher taxes and more government control being advocated for by the national Democratic Party," Tillis said.
Cunningham's campaign has received major support from the Democratic Party establishment, as well as Votevets, a PAC that has funded several campaign ads in recent weeks.
A group linked to Republican U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stepped into the Democratic primary by putting money behind an ad for Smith. Smith disavowed the ad, and Cunningham suggested it was an attempt to save Tillis from having to face him in November.
"Mitch McConnell and Thom Tillis’ allies snuck into our primary to try to trick voters. Tonight won’t be the last time their deception fails because, here in North Carolina, the truth still matters," Cunningham said Tuesday.
Libertarian Shannon Bray and Constitution Party candidate Kevin Hayes also will be in the November race.
Ross takes 2nd District
Former state lawmaker Deborah Ross maintained a sizable lead for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District all night long, leading Wake County school board member Monika Johnson-Hostler by a 70 to 22 percent margin.
The district was redrawn last fall under a court order to eliminate extreme partisan gerrymandering, and it now encompasses much of Wake County. Republican Congressman George Holding decided not to seek re-election since the district now leans Democratic.
"This is going to be the most important election of our lifetime. It is time to put the people of North Carolina first. It is time to put the country first. It is time to come together and take our country back," Ross told cheering supporters late Tuesday.
Republican Alan Swain and Libertarian Jeff Matemu also will be in the November race.
Among other U.S. House races in central North Carolina:
- Democratic 4th District Congressman David Price easily won nomination for another term, and he will face Durham attorney Robert Thomas in November.
- Republican Sandy Smith won a four-way race in the 1st Congressional District and will face Democratic Congressman G.K. Butterfield in the general election.
- Democrat Chris Ward had a sizable lead in the 7th Congressional District and appeared to be the likely opponent for Republican Congressman David Rouzer.
- Democrat Cynthia Wallace downed two other candidates in the 9th Congressional District and will face Republican Congressman Dan Bishop in November.