2026 Midterm election results: Charlotte
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Roy Cooper and his wife, Kristin Cooper, at their election night celebration in Raleigh. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
North Carolina handed Democrats key votes to win control of both chambers of Congress, including a swift Roy Cooper victory and an unexpected lead for Democrat LaKesha Womack over Rep. Tim Moore, according to unofficial results from the State Board of Elections as of 7am, Wednesday.
Here are all the results from races on Charlotteans' ballots:
🫏 U.S. Senate: Cooper wins in quickly called race
Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley, President Trump's handpicked candidate, flipping one of North Carolina's two GOP-held U.S. Senate seats.
- He will be the first Democrat to represent North Carolina in the Senate in over a decade.
😬 U.S. House: The surprises of the night for local Republicans
District 12: Democratic Rep. Alma Adams will serve her seventh full term representing most of Charlotte after besting Republican Jack Codiga.
District 14: Democrat Lakesha Womack appears to have unseated Republican Rep. Tim Moore in this red-leaning district that Moore himself voted to redraw in the state legislature right before running for Congress.
- With all precincts reporting, Womack is 6,415 votes ahead of Moore as of 7am, according to the State Board of Elections. The AP did not declare a winner as of Wednesday morning.
- Go deeper
District 8: Republican Rep. Mark Harris held a narrow lead over Democrat Colby Watson. However, the race was unexpectedly competitive in another red-leaning district.
- With all precincts reporting, just 5,179 votes separate the two in a district ordinarily seen as safe for the GOP, according to the State Board of Elections at 7am. The AP did not declare a winner as of press time.
🏛️ N.C. House and Senate: Democrats take control of House
Democrats have taken control of the North Carolina House for the first time in 15 years, and Republicans are expected to maintain a majority in the state Senate. This will upend how legislation is made in Raleigh.
Here's a closer look at the Charlotte-area races:
- 🔥 House District 105: Ken McCool (D) flipped this district by crushing incumbent Tricia Cotham (R) with 57% of the vote.
- 🔥 House District 98: Rep. Beth Helfrich (D) easily won against John Rhodes (R) with 60% of the vote.
- 🔥 Senate District 42: Sen. Woodson Bradley (D) was victorious in her rematch against Stacie McGinn (R) with 59% of the vote.
- 🔥 Senate District 37: Sen. Vickie Sawyer (R) fended off her challenger, Raygan Angel (D), with 57% of the vote.
- Senate District 40: Sen. Joyce Waddell (D) coasted past Bobbie Shields (R).
- Senate District 41: Sen. Caleb Theodros (D) cruised to victory over Kevin Gray (R).
- House District 88: Rep. Mary Belk (D) easily beat Ray Craig (R).
- House District 104: Rep. Brandon Lofton (D) sailed past Trina Boyd (R).
👩⚖️ N.C. Supreme Court: Earls protects a seat for Democrats
Associate Justice Anita Earls won reelection against Republican challenger Sarah Stevens, retaining one of two Democratic seats on the Supreme Court.
- With three of five Republican seats up for reelection in 2028, Earls has also protected Democrats' chances of flipping the court.
📜 3 Republican-backed amendments to the Constitution pass
All three constitutional amendments passed with around 60% of the votes, according to The New York Times, which used data from AP.
- ✅ Require all voters, not just those presenting to vote in person, to present photo identification before voting.
- Voter ID is already a law in North Carolina. This enshrines it in the constitution for by-mail voting. It's already in there for in-person voting.
- ✅ Keep the state income tax rate from being raised higher than 3.5%.
- The personal income tax rate was already scheduled to fall from 3.99% to 3.49% in 2027, while the corporate tax is scheduled to drop from 2% to 0% by 2030.
- ✅ Require limits on property tax increases by local governments.
- State lawmakers will need to go back to Raleigh and determine what the limit is and whether it factors in population growth and inflation.
🌆 All three Charlotte bond packages pass
Voters said yes to:
- ✅ $280M in bonds for transportation and road projects.
- ✅ $125M in bonds for affordable housing.
- ✅ $20M in bonds to improve neighborhoods and upgrade infrastructure.
🔵 Mecklenburg County commissioners: Drayton locks in another all-blue board
Monifa "Mo" Drayton handily won the only competitive county commissioners' race in west Charlotte's District 2. She beat Republican candidate Angela White Edwards.
- Drayton succeeds longtime commissioner Vilma Leake, whom she ousted in the primary.
🌱 Soil and Water: Board chair reelected, Betterly joins
Barbara Bleiweis, who has chaired this board since 2017 and also chairs the statewide Soil and Water Conservation Commission, was reelected.
- Michael Betterly won the board's other open seat as the second-highest vote-getter.
👨⚖️ N.C. Court of Appeals: Democratic judges ride the wave
Incumbent Democrats John Arrowood and Toby Hampson were reelected, with Democrat Christine Marie Walczyk joining the court for the open Seat 3.
This story may be updated with the latest information.