5 races we're watching on election night in the Triangle
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After the polls close Tuesday night, all eyes will be on how North Carolina votes for president as well as its controversy-laden gubernatorial race.
Why it matters: While those two high-profile races will likely affect how many people vote, dozens of down-ballot races will be worth watching on Election Day.
Here are some interesting races we're watching:
1. Attorney General: How will Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's controversies affect other Republicans down the ballot who have supported him? The attorney general's race in North Carolina could be the test case.
- Democratic nominee for attorney general and Congressman Jeff Jackson has tried to tie his opponent, Republican Congressman Dan Bishop, to Robinson's controversies. Still, Bishop hasn't shied away from standing with Robinson — unlike many Republicans around the country.
- Both Jackson and Bishop are well-known U.S. representatives in their respective Charlotte-area districts, and in the final weeks leading up to the election, Bishop has ramped up campaign ads against Jackson and sued his campaign for defamation.
2. Will Republicans keep their supermajority in the state legislature? Two races in Wake County could decide.
- Keep an eye on House District 37, in which Republican incumbent Rep. Erin Paré — the only Republican representing Wake County in the state legislature — is running against Democrat Safiyah Jackson.
- Also worth watching: Senate District 18, between Democrat Rep. Terence Everitt and Republican Ashlee Bryan Adams.
3. Will an outside critic or inside proponent lead our public schools?
- Republican candidate for Superintendent for Public Instruction Michele Morrow, who previously ran unsuccessfully for Wake County school board, shocked the state when she upset incumbent Catherine Truitt in the Republican primary.
- Truitt ultimately declined to endorse Morrow.
- Morrow, who was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, has also faced criticism for her past controversial remarks, including proposing to execute Democratic officials. Even former president Obama says he's watching this race.
- Morrow's Democratic opponent Mo Green, a former superintendent, has framed himself as the more qualified candidate who'd be tasked with saving public schools in North Carolina. "I do believe that the very soul of public education is on the ballot," he told the Assembly.
- You should also keep an eye on the Wake County school board, where several conservative candidates are running against Democratic-backed incumbents in what is technically a nonpartisan race.
4. Will Congressman Don Davis hold onto his seat in North Carolina's 1st District?
- Because of how North Carolina's congressional districts were drawn, the state is only expected to have one congressional race on Election Day: the 1st District in northeastern North Carolina.
- The race puts Democratic incumbent Davis, a pastor from Snow Hill, up against Republican Laurie Buckhout, a defense contractor consultant from Edenton.
- The 1st District has long been a Democratic stronghold, but due to drawing in more Republican counties and a shrinking population, it is one of the true tossup races in the country, according to the Cook Political Report. It could be pivotal for deciding which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.
5. Will Cotham's party switch cost her reelection?
- Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County infuriated Democrats when she switched to the Republican Party mid-legislative session last year.
- To solidify another term, Cotham likely needs to win over some swing voters in her Republican-leaning district. Democrats hope they see Cotham's switch as deceitful, but it's possible moderate voters wouldn't be as bothered by it.