Election update — Nov. 3, 2026, 8:23 p.m. Eastern: Decision Desk HQ projects Democrat Roy Cooper will win North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race over Republican Michael Whatley. DDHQ recorded its race call at 8:23 p.m. Eastern. The Associated Press also called the race for Cooper on Nov. 3.

At that update, DDHQ reported 51% of the vote in: Cooper had 1,501,539 votes (66.80%); Whatley, 709,535 (31.56%); Libertarian Shannon Bray, 20,626 (0.92%); and Green Party candidate Michael Dublin, 16,195 (0.72%). These are partial, unofficial returns, not certified final results. The projection is DDHQ’s; vote counting continues.

Follow DDHQ’s live race results and the North Carolina State Board of Elections’ official results dashboard for subsequent totals. This article will be updated as election officials release further vote totals.

Pre-election reporting

Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley are making their final pitches to voters across the Charlotte region ahead of Tuesday's U.S. Senate election, with stops that brought both candidates within miles of Lake Norman.

Whatley held a Get Out The Vote Rally in Huntersville on Monday, Oct. 26, Queen City News reported. Both candidates then appeared in Concord on Sunday, Nov. 1. Cooper held a canvas lunch there, and Whatley spoke at a Turning Point USA rally that afternoon, according to WSOC-TV.

The race is for the seat held by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who decided not to seek reelection, according to WFAE. Key issues include affordability, health care costs, crime and western North Carolina's recovery from Hurricane Helene, WFAE reported.

At his Concord canvas lunch, Cooper shared his campaign promise of "making stuff cost less," WSOC-TV reported. He has said the price of groceries, rent, utilities and health care are rising and that Washington is making it worse, according to WLOS. Cooper has pledged to vote to roll back tariffs, which he called "chaotic and irrational," saying they raise costs for farmers and consumers, according to the Wilmington Star-News. He has also proposed lowering childcare costs by investing in higher wages for childcare workers and expanding the Child Care and Dependent Tax Credit.

Cooper served as North Carolina attorney general from 2000 to 2016 and as governor from 2017 to 2025, according to WFAE.

Whatley, the former North Carolina Republican Party chair from 2019 to 2024, said at the Concord rally he wants to advocate for tax and regulatory policies that benefit North Carolina businesses, WSOC-TV reported. His campaign website states he supports tax cuts for the middle class and no taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security. President Donald Trump has endorsed Whatley's Senate bid.

While in Huntersville, Whatley told Queen City News he would fight for North Carolinians "to make more and keep more of their own money." Cooper, speaking in Charlotte, said he would "put the people first" and encouraged voters "to not take anything for granted."

Local early voting turnout

Lake Norman area voters have been casting ballots at a strong pace. As of Oct. 20, the Cornelius Town Hall early voting site had recorded 4,229 ballots, and the Huntersville North County Regional Library had recorded 3,558, the Charlotte Observer reported. A second Huntersville site at CPCC Merancas Campus had logged 2,059 ballots by the same date.

Those figures covered only the first week of early voting, which ran through Oct. 31. Across Mecklenburg County, more than 70,000 people had voted early as of Oct. 20, a pace the Observer called considerably higher than in the 2022 and 2018 midterms.

Polls open Tuesday, Nov. 3. WSOC-TV reported Whatley planned to visit Gaston County before polls close.