NC's US Senate race called, election results roll in
11:30 p.m.: Wiley Nickel has won election to the U.S. House in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District. He defeated Republican challenger Bo Hines.
11:28 p.m.: City of Raleigh voters re-elected incumbent Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin to another term.
Democratic candidate Willie Rowe defeated Republican challenger and former sheriff Donnie Harrison in the race for Wake County sheriff.
11:20 p.m.: U.S. Rep. Ted Budd is projected to beat Democratic former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley in North Carolina’s hotly-contested U.S. Senate race, according to NBC News.
11 p.m.: Democrat incumbent Deborah Ross has won reelection to the U.S. House in North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District. Ross released a statement on Tuesday night.
“I am honored that the people of Wake County have put their faith in me once again to serve as their representative in Washington, and I am excited to represent many new communities in the new Second District," Ross wrote. "It is a privilege to continue being your voice in Washington."
Ross ran against Republican challenger Christine Villaverde.
Democrat Kathy Manning won election to the U.S. House in North Carolina's 6th Congressional District. Manning defeated Republican challenger Christian Castelli and Libertarian Thomas Watercott.
10:45 p.m.: Triangle voters approved $1.87 billion in bonds for schools, parks and colleges Tuesday.
Wake County homeowners will spend an average of about $35 per year more in taxes after voters approved bonds Tuesday to cover improvements and expansions in the county’s public school system and at Wake Technical Community College.
More than two-thirds of voters approved each bond, totaling more than $800 million. Voters in Johnston and Durham counties and Fayetteville also approved bond measures.
10:30 p.m.: Incumbent Raleigh city councilmember Corey Branch has won reelection. Branch defeated Frank Fields and Wanda Hunter in the race for the Raleigh City Council's District C seat.
10:20 p.m.: Democrat Don Davis has won election to the U.S. House in North Carolina's 1st Congressional District. He defeated Republican challenger Sandy Smith. Davis fills the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield.
10:15 p.m.: Incumbent Republican David Rouzer has won reelection to the U.S. House in North Carolina's 7th Congressional District. He defeated Democratic Challenger Charles Graham.
Democrat Alma Adams has won election to the U.S. House in North Carolina's 12th Congressional District. Adams defeated Republican challenger Ryler Lee.
Democrat Jeff Jackson has won election to the U.S. House in North Carolina's 14th Congressoinal District. Jackson defeated Republican challenger Pat Harrigan.
9:40 p.m.: Democrat Valerie Foushee has won the election to the U.S. House in North Carolina's 4th Congressional District. Foushee defeated Republican challenger Courtney Geels.
Republican Virginia Foxx has won election to the U.S. House in North Carolina's 5th Congressional District. Foxx defeated Democratic Challenger Kyle Parrish.
Republican Chuck Edwards has won election to the U.S. House in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. Edwards defeated Democratic challenger Jasmine Beach-Ferrara and Libertarian David Adam Coatney.
9:30 p.m.: Republican incumbent U.S. Rep Greg Murphy won the race for the 3rd Congressional District. Murphy defeated Democrat Barbara Gaskins.
Republican Dan Bishop won the race for the 8th Congressional District. Bishop defeated Democrat Scott Huffman.
Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry defeated Democratic challenger Pam Genant for the 10th Congressional District.
7:30 p.m.: Polls closed at 7:30 p.m. across Wake County. Unofficial election results are expected to begin posting online before 8 p.m. However, some precinct results may arrive after 11:30 p.m., election leaders said.
“Today has gone incredibly smoothly and we think it's partly a result of more than a quarter million of our voters taking advantage of early voting options,” said Wake County Board of Elections Director Gary Sims. “I estimated about 60% turnout this election, which would be slightly higher than previous midterms, and with 45% having cast ballots by this afternoon, I think we're on pace to meet that once the polls close at 7:30 [p.m.]"
In Wake County, the first unofficial results released Tuesday night will be early-voting and absentee by-mail returns.
Wake County had 219,170 registered voters who voted early between Oct. 20 and Nov. 5 at 15 different locations. Another 30,256 absentee ballots were received and already approved by the Board during their official meetings in the past few weeks. Those results are expected to be available before 8 p.m.
6:15 p.m.: Voting has been extended for 25 minutes, until 7:55 p.m. at the Riverbend Municipal Building in Craven County.The polling site there ran out of ballots for about 25 minutes, and 15 voters were turned away. Polling officials didn't get their names, but those voters can return and cast a ballot before the polls close.
4 p.m.: North Carolina recorded more than 2.1 million votes cast during early voting and absentee by mail. History shows that Democrats tend to vote early or by mail more often than Republicans.
With that in mind, Wake County is reporting that 45% of ballots cast in through two ways (112,106) came from registered Democrats; 22% were from Republicans and 40% from voters registered as unaffiliated.
In Johnston County, 41,713 ballots were cast ahead of Election Day. In Cumberland County, that number was 48,060.
3 p.m.: The state elections board voted unanimously Tuesday to extend by one hour voting at three precincts — one each in Columbus, Robeson and Wilson counties — to account for delays at the polls. The extensions were intended to enable voters who were turned away to return to cast a ballot. The delays will result in delayed vote tallies for the counties until the last precincts close, elections officials said.
The affected precincts include:
- Columbus County: Ransom Event Center, 2696 General Howe Highway, Riegelwood, N.C., 28456
- Robeson County: Gaddys Township Volunteer Fire Department, 1022 Gerald Road, Fairmont, N.C., 28340
- Wilson County: Sanoca Volunteer Fire Station, 6903 Church Street, Saratoga, N.C., 27873
In Columbus County, three precincts had problems connecting computers to the printers used to print authorization forms voters fill out when they check in. The delays affected dozens of voters. At two of the precincts, affected voters were able to return to cast their ballots. The Ransom location was extended because not all voters were able to return. A similar issue affected voters at the Wilson precinct.
The Robeson County precinct was delayed because elections volunteers were locked out of the building when voters started arriving, affecting about eight voters.
Elections officials noted that the delays were a small fraction of the more than 2,600 precincts from across the state.
Noon: On Tuesday morning, representatives of the State Board of Elections updated the turnout and reports of interference at the more than 2,600 polling places across the state.
Four of those polling places opened late, including one in Robeson County, where the building was locked at 6:30 a.m. when voting was supposed to begin.
Another three were in Columbus County, where computer problems delayed the opening.
The State Board of Elections will meet again this afternoon to determine whether to keep those sites open later than the scheduled end of voting at 7:30 p.m.
State election officials say the goal is to make sure all eligible voters are able to have their say.
Here's a timeline of what to expect tonight.
Once polls close, the first results you see will be absentee and early votes.
It will take a couple of hours for precinct officials to drive their results to county boards of election.
Then, probably around 8:30 p.m., you'll begin to see today's election day totals added to the count.
That is a process that could last into tomorrow.
11 a.m.: In Wake County, board of elections officials estimated that about 5% to 7% of registered voters, or about 40,000 people, had voted on Election Day through 10 a.m.
With early voting added in, more than 200,000 people had voted. Another 25,000 or so ballots were mailed in to the county. That totaled 30% of registered voters having cast ballots in the county before noon on Election Day.
6 a.m.: Tuesday is Election Day, with a U.S. Senate seat and 14 congressional seats up for grabs in North Carolina—races that could play a role in shifting the balance of power in Washington.
Control of the North Carolina General Assembly is also at stake, with 170 legislative seats up for election. Republicans are hoping to gain a supermajority in both chambers to thwart vetoes by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, enabling them to more easily control education spending, voting rights and abortion regulations.
There are also elections for local boards of education, sheriff, county commissions, judges and district attorneys.
Here’s what voters need to know:
Where do I vote on election day?
Polling places are based on a registered voter’s home address and should be listed on the person’s voter registration card. You can also look it up online.
Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Anyone in line at 7:30 p.m. when polls close will be allowed to cast their ballot.
What’s at stake?
Races on the ballot include:
- An open U.S. Senate seat: Republican Ted Budd and Democrat Cheri Beasley are running for the seat left open by retiring U.S. Sen.Richard Burr.
- 14 U.S. House seats, including two closely-contested seats in and near the Triangle.
- State offices, including the General Assembly, and seats on the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
- Local offices such as district attorneys, county sheriffs and county commissioners
NC Voter Guide 2022
WRAL News also launched its NC Voter Guide 2022, a resource for North Carolina voters ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.
Users can enter a home address to view profiles of each candidate who will appear on their ballots. Voters will also be able to compare candidates’ responses before casting their votes.
The NC Voter Guide 2022 also allows users to print or email their selections to help them make their choices at the polls. Users can go step-by-step through the races on their specific ballot and compare candidates in some of the biggest races in the state and region.
Watch the results on WRAL
WRAL News and NBC News will partner for results and analysis on local and national races from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.
For non-stop local coverage, watch WRAL News+ from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- WRAL2: 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Over the air 5.2 and Spectrum 1255
WRAL News will also provide coverage on FOX 50 at 10 p.m. At 11 p.m., WRAL News will offer a roundup of all the big races in central North Carolina.
School changes on Election Day
Some districts, including Wake County, opted for a teacher workday because parents expressed concerns about safety at schools used as polling sites.
The following districts will participate in teacher workdays or student holidays on Tuesday:
- Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
- Cumberland County Schools
- Durham Public Schools
- Johnston County Schools
- Orange County Schools
- Wake County Schools
