Election 2020 live updates: Tillis claims victory in close Senate race
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information on Election Night 2020 across North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Tillis declares win over Cunningham
The race for U.S. Senator between incumbent Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham remains unsettled, with some mail-in ballots and provisional ballots not yet counted. Still, Tillis holds a lead over Cunningham and, as of Wednesday morning, Cunning had not conceded.
No elections official nor the Associated Press has called a winner in the race.
Late Tuesday, while holding a tentative lead over his opponent, Tillis declared victory at an election night watch party in Mooresville.
“What we accomplished tonight was a stunning victory,” he said.
Supporters cheered as he approached the stage chanting “six more years.” Tillis thanked his wife and said he will ensure schools and businesses can open, before praising Trump.
”We’re going to make sure that we kill this virus and what it’s done to this great nation,” he said.
Tillis added that he had not heard from Cunningham.
The N.C. Democratic Party ended its watch party without a speech by Cunningham, who was scheduled to speech, WSOC reporter Joe Bruno said in a Tweet at 12:09 a.m.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Tillis was ahead with 48.73% of the vote. Cunningham had 46.94%. More than 5.4 million ballots were cast and the state elections board website showed 100% of precincts counted. Election results on Tuesday are unofficial, and mail-in ballots are accepted in North Carolina through Nov. 12, if postmarked by Nov. 3.
The race is the most expensive U.S. Senate race in history and the polls between the two tightened in October. Five polls released since Saturday show Cunningham leading with a margin between 2 and 5 points.
In the last month, Tillis has centered his criticism on Cunningham’s marital infidelity and investigation by the U.S. Army. Cunningham has criticized Tillis for his Senate record and response to the coronavirus pandemic.
When Trump took the lead on Fox News, attendees of the Tillis election night watch party held at the Langtree Plantation in Mooresville erupted in cheers.
Gov. Roy Cooper wins re-election against Dan Forest
In the state’s highly watched gubernatorial race, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has won a second term. With early votes and more than 100% of precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning., Cooper had garnered about 51.5% of the vote, compared to 47% for his Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.
Cooper also eclipsed Forest in the fundraising battle. From July 1 to Oct. 17, Cooper raised more than $17 million, more than four times what Forest raised during that time period.
Cooper used much of that money on ads that criticized Forest for not taking the coronavirus seriously enough.
Forest, meanwhile, has denounced Cooper for not reopening schools and businesses during the pandemic.
Presidential race still too close to call in NC
North Carolina is a critical battleground state in the presidential election, and will deliver 15 electoral votes to whoever wins the state.
Just after midnight, the race was considered too close to call.
“Overnight, at least 117,000 of the state’s absentee ballots were still out,” McClatchy reported, based on figures from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
With 100% of Election Day precincts reporting, the Board of Elections showed Trump leading with almost 50% of the vote. Biden had 48.6% of the vote.
Previously, Biden held a lead in early and mail-in voting returns.
In nine of the past 10 presidential elections, the state has voted for Republicans, except in 2008 when Obama won North Carolina.
Both Trump and Biden have aggressively campaigned in the state in the closing days of the election.
Madison Cawthorn, Dan Bishop win Congressional seats
Newcomer Madison Cawthorn and incumbents Rep. Dan Bishop and Rep. Richard Hudson — all Republicans — have won Congressional seats in North Carolina.
Cawthorn took Western North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District early in the night. In June, the 25-year-old beat out the candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump and drew national attention during the Republican National Convention when he pushed himself up from his wheelchair with a walker.
On Twitter, Cawthorn tweeted in celebration “Cry more, lib.”
In North Carolina’s 9th district, Bishop has won his re-election against Democratic nominee and finance executive Cynthia Wallace.
“I will always stand up for your values in Washington,” Bishop said at a watch party in Monroe.
Republican Congressman Richard Hudson also beat former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Pat Timmons-Goodson in the 8th district. As of 11 p.m. with 74% of statewide ballots cast, Hudson had 53% of the vote compared to 47% for Timmons-Goodson.
Democrats sweep Mecklenburg commissioner races
Democrats held on to all nine seats on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners.
Four Republican candidates ran for the district seats, including past commissioners Matthew Ridenhour and Jim Puckett.
Democratic incumbent Elaine Powell had 58% of the vote compared to Puckett’s 42%. Democratic incumbent George Dunlap had also clinched almost 86% of the vote compared to Republican challenger Friday Paul Okure at 14%.
Democrat Laura Meier had 53% to Ridenhour’s 47% and Democratic incumbent Susan Rodriguez-McDowell had 53% against Republican Joel Levy’s 47%.
Local bonds near victory
Charlotte’s three bond referendums were easily passed Tuesday. The combined $197.2 million bonds are for transportation, affordable housing and neighborhood improvement.
With 100% of precincts reported — and even with some mail-in ballots outstanding — voters decisively approved the bonds.
Transportation bond passed, with 77% in favor to 23% opposed. The housing bond was also sailed through, with 77% in favor to 23% opposed. The neighborhood infrastructure improvements bond got 79% in favor, with 21% opposed.
“We’re very, very happy because this is a win for all of us who love Charlotte,” said Kieth Cockrell, a co-chair for the bond campaign and executive with Bank of America.
North Carolina polls closed at 7:30
Most polling sites in North Carolina closed at 7:30 p.m., but people can still vote as long as they’re in line before the site closes.
The deadline to vote has been extended at some precincts in Sampson, Cabarrus, Guilford and Warren counties, meaning statewide results from early voting and mail-in voting will be delayed until at least 8:15 p.m.
In Cabarrus County, voting will be extended 39 minutes, to 8:09 p.m., at the Flowes Store Volunteer Fire Station precinct, located at 8623 Flowes Store Road in Concord. Voting will also be extended at First Missionary Baptist Church until 7:47 p.m.
“This is the normal course of business here in North Carolina and we’re very used to dealing with it,” BOE Chairman Damon Circosta said of the delays.
State officials have historically released the results of early voting and mail-in voting as soon as polls close on Election Day, meaning a delay at one polling location will stall the results at all 2,600 statewide. With or without reporting delays, the results of elections are unofficial until certified.
NC voter protection hotline fields thousands of calls
By Tuesday evening, more than 2,400 calls were made to a voter protection hotline, Southern Coalition for Social Justice executive director and chief voting rights attorney Allison Riggs said in a statement.
That number set an Election Day record, Riggs said. Earlier in the day, the SCSJ reported that most issues concerned difficulty finding polling sites with poor signage, or concerns about insufficient staffing.
The State Board of Election extended hours in precincts where polling sites opened late to allow voters to cast their ballots.
“SCSJ has vigorously advocated for extensions of voting times at sites that had interruptions today,” Riggs said. “The hotline continues to have reports of aggressive electioneering from precincts around the state and we are monitoring this situation to make sure it does not cross the line into voter intimidation.”
ProPublica’s Electionland project has also fielded dozens of complaints in recent days about intimidation and irregularities at North Carolina polling places.
Armed man arrested at Charlotte precinct
A 36-year-old armed man was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with trespassing at a polling site, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said.
Justin Dunn, a former Charlotte City Council candidate, was arrested at at the Oasis Shrine Temple in University City.
Dunn was clad in camouflage, boots and a Trump hat with a holstered pistol when he first arrived at the precinct, which voted overwhelmingly for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. Police said he voted but didn’t leave, prompting a precinct official to ban him from the site around 10:40 a.m.
Police were called when he returned later.
Guns are allowed at polling places in North Carolina unless it’s located at a building where firearms are banned, such as a church or school. But voting officials can otherwise ask people not to wear guns if other voters feel intimidated.
Dunn told the Charlotte Observer before his arrest that people in Black Lives Matter T-shirts had “verbally accosted“ him, saying he wanted to come back because he said he was harassed by onlookers and “threatened with police force.”
Officials warn of robocalls touting ‘misinformation’
Officials in multiple states — including North Carolina — warned voters to ignore robocalls telling them to stay home on Election Day.
“They want to steal your vote,” Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein said in a Tweet just before 4:30 p.m. “Don’t let them.”
The calls reportedly tell people “time to stay home, stay safe and stay home.”
Gayle King on CBS Tuesday night said during live network coverage that an NAACP source in NC reported some voters got calls falsely stating they could vote Nov. 4, the day after the election.
“Well of course absolutely it’s not true,” King said
Hashim Warren, a 40-year-old from Greensboro, told Reuters he and his wife received a robocall. Warren — who is Black — said the call made him more anxious “about potential violence around the election from far-right supporters of President Donald Trump,” Reuters reported.
“Instead of saying like, Election Day is not today, the fact that it said ‘stay safe’ felt both vile and prescient as if they knew there were other things, real things happening in the world, not robocalls, that were making myself and my wife feel anxious,” Warren told Reuters.
The FBI said it’s investigating.
“We are aware of reports of robocalls and have no further comment,” the FBI said in a statement. “As a reminder, the FBI encourages the American public to verify any election and voting information they may receive through their local election officials.”
Few lines at polling places on Election Day
State election officials said voting Tuesday was a “smooth process” with few long lines and no reports of voter intimidation or deliberate misinformation by mid-morning.
“The reassurance for everyone is that nearly 4.6 million ballots have already been cast with very little to no incidences,” said State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell. “It’s been a smooth process. There were some long lines early on, but those eased up in the 17 days of early voting.”
As of early Tuesday morning, just over 62 percent of the state’s 7.3 million registered voters had cast their ballots, according to the state elections board. The early voters included 1.7 million Democrats, almost 1.5 million Republicans and nearly 1.4 million unaffiliated people.
More than 4.5 million North Carolinians already voted before Election Day — including 3.6 million people who early voted an additional 929,000 who voted absentee, the Charlotte Observer previously reported.
Ames Alexander, Annie Ma, Amanda Zhou and Austin Weinstein contributed.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 7:11 PM.
