Live North Carolina Senate Election Results: Thom Tillis Projected to Win

North Carolina Senate Election

Getty Voters cast their ballots in Charlotte, North Carolina on election day November 8, 2016.

North Carolina voters have been casting their ballots to fill the senate seat in the 2020 election and Decision Desk HQ projected that Republican Thom Tillis would win the state on November 10. Tillis, the incumbent, defeated Democratic candidate Cal Cunningham and won a second term. Kevin E. Hayes and Shannon Bray were also on the ballot as the candidates for the Constitution Party and the Libertarian Party, respectively.

FiveThirtyEight reported that about 80% of the total votes cast could be available as soon as polls close on Election Day and officials also told WECT that 97% of all ballots cast would be reported on election night. However, because North Carolina allows ballots received as late as November 12 as long as they’re postmarked by November 3, the race was too close to call for many days following the election.

Follow along below with the live election results of the 2020 presidential race thanks to Heavy’s partners at Decision Desk HQ:


See Below for Live Senate Election Results From North Carolina & the Map of the Votes in the State

The live results of the Senate race in North Carolina are available in the widget below, courtesy of Heavy’s partners at Decision Desk HQ. You can hover over the counties on the map to see localized results:

Voters in North Carolina have been casting their ballots in person as early as October 15 and the state also allows all voters to request an absentee ballot. That means a majority of the state already voted before Election Day. According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), about 4.5 million registered voters, which is more than 60% of registered voters, have cast their ballots in the 2020 election.

FiveThirtyEight points out that the first reporting of results when polls close, which will be mail-in ballots and early voting, may be skewed in the Democrats’ favor. However, “A red shift will likely occur as Election Day votes are reported,” the site adds. The results might then shift again toward Democrats in the following days when the late mail-in ballots are processed.

On the ballot in North Carolina will also be the candidates to fill the state’s 13 seats to the U.S. House of Representatives, which were won by 10 Republicans and three Democrats in the last election. The 8th, 9th and 11th congressional district races are likely to be the closest ones in the state and those to look out for. The widget below provided by Decision Desk HQ shows the live results of the House races this election. Click on North Carolina in the dropdown menu or select the state on the map to see those results, and hover over each district for the results of that race:

For a look at the presidential election results in North Carolina, which is another extremely close race, the widget below shows the breakdown of the votes for the next president:

The local race results will also be available on North Carolina’s State Board of Elections website here.


Tillis Was Trailing Behind Cunningham by a Few Points in the Latest Polls Heading Into November 3

Tillis appeared to consistently trail behind Cunningham in the lead-up to the election, with the margin ranging from around 2 to 5 points. According to FiveThirtyEight, a November 2 Ipsos poll showed Cunningham leading Tillis by a very slight margin of two points, 48% to 46%. Emerson College released the latest A-rated poll on November 1, which showed Cunningham in the lead by 3 points over Tillis, 50% to 47%.

Another recent A-rated poll, issued on October 30 by Marist College, had a much bigger margin of 10 points, with Cunningham at 53% and Tillis at 43%. However, another poll from Siena College and The New York Times on October 29 had only a 3-point gap between the two, 46% for Cunningham and 43% for Tillis.


The Incumbent Is Thom Tillis, a Republican, Who Is Seeking a Second Term

In the lead-up to the election, Tillis has consistently trailed behind Cunningham in an extremely expensive race estimated to have cost over $285 million, The News & Observer reported. Tillis, who tested positive for the coronavirus in early October, has faced attacks from Cunningham over healthcare and the Republican response to the pandemic. Tillis, on the other hand, has been using Cunningham’s recent admission to an extra-marital affair against him, saying it proves he’s “neither truthful nor honorable,” The Hill reported.

The other Senator for North Carolina is Richard Burr, a Republican, who was re-elected in the 2016 election. However, North Carolina is not a strictly red state in its Senate elections as the state has elected a handful of Democratic Senators in recent history.


Follow the Live Results of the 2020 Presidential Race Across All States With a Map & the Updated Electoral College Votes

To see the live updates of the presidential race across all states, see the nationwide results provided by Decision Desk HQ below:

For either Biden or Trump to win the presidency, they need to reach 270 electoral college votes. The results of that race are available here:

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