North Carolina voters are choosing between Democrat Roy Cooper, the state's former two-term governor, and Republican Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman, for the Senate seat held by Republican Thom Tillis. Tillis did not seek a third term. The open seat is one of the races that will help decide control of the Senate.
A Democrat has not won a U.S. Senate race in North Carolina since 2008, WXII reports. Whatley has President Trump's endorsement and has focused his campaign on crime and public safety. Cooper has campaigned on affordability and has pitched himself as an independent voice who would work across party lines, according to the Associated Press.
Cooper went into Election Day ahead in the polls and in fundraising. The final East Carolina University poll before the election had him leading 54% to 45%, up two points from ECU's October poll, and leading by 14 points among independent voters. In that poll, 47% of voters named the economy and cost of living as their top issue, and border security and immigration came in second at 12%.
The AP notes that North Carolina still leans Republican, so a Democratic win is never easy there. Cooper needs big margins in urban areas while staying competitive in the suburbs.
Polls in North Carolina close at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, which is 6:30 p.m. Central. Results are expected to start coming in after that.
Ballots are counted by state and local election officials. Raw 100.5 does not call races. Like NPR and PBS, we rely on the Associated Press, which declares a winner only when it determines a trailing candidate has no path left to win.
Sources: Associated Press, WXII, WITN, East Carolina University