North Carolina voters on Tuesday selected party nominees in important federal and state races.
What happened on March 3?
Note: Results are unofficial at this point until certified later by county and state election officials.
The State Board of Elections reports that about 1.5 million people voted on Tuesday, which is about 20 percent of registered voters.
To win nomination, a candidate must receive 30 percent of the vote. In races where that did not occur, the second-place finisher can call for a second primary runoff election, which would be held on May 12.
Federal Offices
U.S. Senate
Voters selected nominees for the US Senate seat open due to the retirement of incumbent Thom Tillis (R).
Former Gov. Roy Cooper won the Democratic nomination with 92% and a vote total of 758,808. Former Republican Party National Party Chair Michael Whatley won his party’s nomination with 65% and a vote total of 404,199. Given the national battle for party control of the US Senate, this race will be hotly contested with millions of dollars spent on it.
U.S. House
A number of contested primaries were held for the state’s 14 U.S. House seats. The Republicans currently hold a 10 to 4 advantage in the delegation. Much attention is focused on the newly drawn lines in District 1 in which Don Davis (D) is the incumbent and some political observers believe that the race in District 11 in western North Carolina could be competitive.
Here are the contests for November after this week’s primary:
- 1st CD - Don Davis (D) (Incumbent) (unopposed) v. military veteran and businesswoman Laurie Buckhout (R) (40%)—this will be a rematch of their 2024 race
- 2nd CD - Deborah Ross (D) (Incumbent) (unopposed) v. college professor Eugene Douglass (R) (unopposed)
- 3rd CD - Greg Murphy (R) (Incumbent)(unopposed) v. former NC House member Raymond Smith (D) (57%)
- 4th CD - Valerie Foushee (D) (Incumbent) (49%) (she defeated Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam by about 1,200 votes) v. contractor Max Ganorkar (R) (Unopposed)
- 5th CD - Virginia Foxx (R) (Incumbent) (75%) v. journalist Chuck Hubbard (D) (58%)
- 6th CD - Addison McDowell (R) (Incumbent) (unopposed) v. High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson (D) (39%)
- 7th CD - David Rouzer (R) (Incumbent) (80%) v. professor Kim Hardy (D) (unopposed)
- 8th CD - Mark Harris (R) (Incumbent) (Unopposed) v. small business owner Colby Watson (D) (58%)
- 9th CD - Richard Hudson (R) (Incumbent)(Unopposed) v. former US Army Major and West Virginia State Senator Richard Ojeda (D) (42%)
- 10th CD - Pat Harrigan (R) (88%) v. physicians’ assistant and educator Ashley Bell (D) (47%)
- 11th CD - Chuck Edwards (R) (Incumbent) (70%) v. farmer Jamie Ager (D) (65%)
- 12th CD - Alma Adams (D) (Incumbent) (79%) v. financial executive Jack Codiga (R) (67%)
- 13th CD - Brad Knott (R) (Incumbent) (90%) v. attorney Paul Barringer (D) (59%)
- 14th CD - Tim Moore (R) (Incumbent) (83%) v. business consultant Lakesha Womack (D) (52%)
General Assembly
All 170 legislative seats will be on the November 3 general election ballot.
Republicans currently hold majorities in both Houses (30 to 20 in the Senate and 71 to 49 in the House) and have a “supermajority” (60% of those present and voting) in the Senate to override gubernatorial vetoes if members vote by party. It is likely they will hold majorities after the November election, but Democrats seek to gain enough seats to keep Republicans under the supermajority number.
NC Senate
The most watched primary was in district 26 where Senator Phil Berger (R), current Senate President Pro Tem, faced Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page (R). With a number of ballots still to be counted, Page leads by two votes out of over 26,000 cast.
All incumbents were renominated except in District 34 (Cabarrus County) where former House member Kevin Crutchfield (R) defeated incumbent Chris Measmer (R) by 54% to 46%.
NC House
A number of incumbents appear to have lost primary challenges.
Republicans
- District 65 (Rockingham County) Republican Incumbent Reece Pyrtle lost to attorney and contractor Seth Woodall by 57% to 39%
- District 79 (includes Beaufort County) Republican Incumbent Keith Kidwell lost to farmer Darren Armstrong by 52% to 48%
- District 110 (Gaston County) Incumbent Kelly Hastings lost to pharmacist Caroline Eason by 54% to 46 %
- District 118 Incumbent Mark Pless lost to school board member Jimmy Rogers by 55% to 45%
Democrats
Some Democrats who sometimes voted with the Republicans on veto overrides were defeated. They are:
- District 23 (Includes Edgecombe County) Incumbent Shelly Willingham was defeated by minister and accountant Patricia Smith by 56% to 44%
- District 99 (Mecklenburg County) Incumbent Nasif Majeed was defeated by policy advocate Valeria Levy by 69% to 26%
- District 106 (Mecklenburg County) Incumbent Carla Cunningham was defeated by minister Rodney Sadler by 70% to 22%
For more information, contact the Brooks Pierce Government Affairs Team, linked below:
Ed Turlington, Partner
Drew Moretz, Government Relations Advisor
Katelyn Kingsbury, Government Relations Advisor