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Stories and features about North Carolina candidates, voters, and the politics of the 2014 mid-term elections. Polls are open across N.C. until 7:30 p.m. on election day, November 4.

North Carolina Votes 2014 - Here's How The Night Unfolded

Here's what NC's early vote looks like http://wapo.st/1x8ulLQ
@PostReid via Twitter

This is our election night blog. Complete election results can be found here.

12:15 a.m.:

Thom Tillis: "We didn't  bend, we won. ... You all refused to lose and that's why I am standing here before you."

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Kay Hagan: 'I will always be grateful for the trust that you placed in me.'

11:55 p.m.:

Kay Hagan: "This campaign has ended. But our work to improve the lives of North Carolinians and to build an economy that works for everyone is not over."

11:43 p.m.:

"It's time to come together as a state and come together as a nation, isn't that right?" says Governor Pat McCrory. "We're gonna have one heck of a celebration tonight."

11:40 p.m.:

"Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan had blasted Thom Tillis for his role in passing a conservative agenda as speaker of the North Carolina House. But Tillis came away with a narrow victory in the end." - NPR's Election Live Blog

11:37 P.M.:

"I wouldn't be surprised to see if [Kay Hagan] waits until all the votes are in until she conceded." - Laura Leslie, WRAL

11:25 p.m.:

The Associated Press calls the race for Thom Tillis.

11:23 p.m.:

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Republican Thom Tillis leads Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan by about 2 percent in the race for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. Some 50,000 votes separate the two with Libertarian Candidate Sean Haugh taking more than 104,000 votes so far. The Republicans need one more victory to take control of the U.S. Senate.

11:05 p.m.:

With 95 percent of precincts reporting, Republican Thom Tillis leads Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan by about 2 percent in the race for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. Some 50,000 votes separate the two with Libertarian Candidate Sean Haugh taking more than 104,000 votes so far. The Republicans need one more victory to take control of the U.S. Senate.

10:53 p.m.:

Four Republican incumbents in the North Carolina House have lost their seats, threatening the GOP's super-majority in that chamber. It's too early to tell whether they will hang onto at least 72 seats that they need to ensure the veto-proof majority. The GOP held 77 seats during the last session. Unofficial results show four Republican lawmakers were defeated today.

10:51 p.m.:

The state's largest teacher lobbying group says Republican state House members misled voters with a handout that left the impression the group endorsed them, when it didn't. The North Carolina Association of Educators has filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections against Representatives Tom Murry, Chris Whitmire and John Szoka, and others. It says a handout shaped like an apple and distributed by poll workers Tuesday wrongly suggests NCAE endorsed the candidates. The handout actually says the lawmakers worked on legislation backed by the association. Murry's campaign told the board it would file a response to the complaint Wednesday. WRAL-TV reports the apple included a disclaimer saying Szoka and Whitmire didn't authorize the handout.
 

10:38 p.m.

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Dave DeWitt at Tillis' headquarters: 'Supporters of Thom Tillis are beginning to feel like victory is close at hand.'

10:33 p.m.:

With 88 percent of precincts reporting, Republican Thom Tillis leads Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan by about 2 percent in the race for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. Less than 50,000 votes separate the two with Libertarian Candidate Sean Haugh taking 98,000 votes so far.

10:15 p.m.:

Republican Thom Tillis leads Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan by about 2 percent in the race for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. About 47,000 votes separate the two with Libertarian Candidate Sean Haugh taking 91,000 votes so far.

9:54 p.m.:

With about 35 percent of ballots counted, Republican Thom Tillis leads Democrat Kay Hagan by less than 1 percent in the race for U.S. Senate. According to state board of elections numbers, about 35,ooo votes separate the two.

9:51 p.m.:

Chief Justice Mark Martin has won election to an eight-year term on North Carolina's Supreme Court, according to the Associated Press. He beat Superior Court Judge Ola Lewis of Southport capturing about 70 percent of the vote. Martin is the longest-serving member of the court, joining it in 1999. But he moved to chief justice less than two months ago following the mandatory-age retirement of Sarah Parker. He was appointed to the post by Governor Pat McCrory.

9:49 p.m.:

North Carolina's 6th Congressional District has a new representative.  Republican Mark Walker will succeed longtime congressman Howard Coble in Washington.   Walker defeated Democrat Laura Fjeld for the seat.  Walker told his supporters during his victory speech tonight that the path to victory tonight began with a simple gesture following his win in the primary.

"The first thing that we wrote on the whiteboard with our great staff was to act like a congressman...think like a constituent.  In every decision that we make -- whether it's now or in Washington, DC -- the people come first.  You may have heard it before -- people before politics."

Walker holds on to what has long been considered one of the more solidly Republican districts in the state.
 

9:32 p.m.:

"Clay Aiken has finished second again. Running as a Democrat, the famed American Idol runner-up was unable to unseat Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers in North Carolina’s 2nd District." - NPR's Election Live Blog

9:29 p.m.:

With 34 percent of precincts reporting, Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan is leading Republican Thom Tillis 50 percent to 47 percent in the race for U.S. Senate. Roughly 50,000 votes separated the two with about two thirds of precincts left to report.

9:19 p.m.:

The Associated Press has called the North Carolina's 2nd congressional district for Republican Incumbent Renee Ellmers. Ellmers was challenged by former American Idol star Clay Aiken.

9:17 p.m.:

A big win for Republicans tonight. The Associated Press says Republican Mark Walker has been elected to represent North Carolina's 6th Congressional District, replacing retiring U.S. Representative Howard Coble. Walker defeated Democrat Laura Fjeld, a lawyer from Hillsborough. Walker is a Baptist minister from Greensboro. According to returns Walker was leading Fjeld with about 59 percent of the vote. The 6th district stretches north from High Point to the Virginia state line. Coble, a Republican, has held the seat since 1985.

9:14 p.m.:

"The Board of Elections confirmed to Channel 9 that former Charlotte mayor and convicted felon Patrick Cannon cast a ballot Oct. 30. Cannon voted early at Elon Park polling place. Cannon pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and was sentenced Oct. 13 to 44 months in jail." - >>Read full story

8:56 p.m.:

Press Release:

RALEIGH, N.C. - The State Board of Elections results website has encountered intermittent outages and updating lags. The Agency is working with the State Office of Information Technology to increase bandwidth and resolve these display errors.

 "We regret the inconvenience these intermittent outages have caused," said Executive Director Kim Westbrook Strach of the State Board of Elections. "We are working to resolve these issues."
 

8:49 p.m.:

The Associated Press says Democrat Alma Adams has won election to the 12th Congressional District seat left vacant by former U.S. Representative Mel Watt. Watt left earlier this year to become director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  Adams is a veteran state legislator from Greensboro. She defeated Republican Vincent Coakley, a former television newscaster from Charlotte.
 

8:40 p.m.:

NY Times: Kay Hagan leads by 7.0%with 14% reporting.

8:32 P.M.:

U.S. Representative Mark Meadows has won a second term representing North Carolina's 11th Congressional District in the mountains. That's according to the Associated Press. The 55-year-old Republican had 60 percent of the vote in unofficial returns, compared to 39 percent for Democrat Tom Hill. Meadows stressed his opposition to President Barack Obama's signature health care law during the campaign.

8:28 p.m.:

In downtown Raleigh, the Wake County Democratic Party has come together to watch the election results. Out of the 11 Wake County legislative races, they say they’re closely watching about three or four. They’re also anticipating the results of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. All four Republican seats are on the ballot, so if they lose just one seat, the control will shift to the Democrats. Dan Blue is the chair of the Wake County Democratic Party. He says the races could swing many public policy decisions.

"It’s really about public education and transportation and the greenways. We had some tremendous progress in that area and we’ve seen the erosion of that and we’ve seen a lot of stagnation under the current Republican administration."

8:27 p.m.:

The Associated Press says U.S. Representative G.K. Butterfield has won re-election to a sixth term representing North Carolina's 1st Congressional District. The incumbent Democrat from Wilson handily defeated his Republican opponent Arthur Rich, an accountant from Garland.
 

8:16 p.m.:

The Associated Press says U.S. Representative Walter Jones has won re-election to an 11th term in North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District.  The incumbent Republican from Farmville defeated Democrat Marshall Adame, a retired U.S. Marine. According to early returns, Jones captured roughly 70 percent of the vote.

8:08 p.m.:

Never in doubt, but NPR is projecting that Republicans will hold their House majority.

8:03 p.m.:

Experts think it may be a while this evening before there is a clear-cut winner in what has become the nation's most expensive U.S. Senate race.

8:01 p.m.:

Hagan slight lead, 1.54 percent of votes tallied. - NC State Board of Elections

7:48 p.m.:

The New York Times is tallying NC election results here.

7:44 p.m.:

From NPR's election live blog:

'One factor in North Carolina and a few other top races has been relatively strong polling support for independent and minor party candidates. It's worth watching whether that support has faded on Election Day itself.'

7:40 p.m.:

A polling place in Robeson County will stay open until 8:15 p.m. The State Board of Elections ordered the Maxton precinct to stay open an additional 45 minutes after the polling station ran out of ballots earlier in the day. Local elections officials report 50 to 60 voters left the polling place after it ran out of ballots.
 

7:02 p.m.:

A spokesman says the North Carolina State Board of Elections has received some reports of problems with voting -- including one precinct that opened 90 minutes late. Board spokesman Josh Lawson says about 70 people left the Bentonville precinct because of that late opening. He says the state board will decide whether to extend voting by 90 minutes; the Johnston County board recommended that the time not be extended. Lawson says the board has conflicting reports about two precincts in Lincoln County. State officials were told the precincts opened less than 15 minutes late. The state board doesn't extend the time for voting if the precinct opened less than 15 minutes late.  However, Lawson says voters told an advocacy group that the precincts opened more than 15 minutes late.
 

Carol Jackson has been with WUNC since 2006. As Digital News Editor, she writes stories for wunc.org, and helps reporters and hosts make digital versions of their radio stories. She is also responsible for sharing stories on social media. Previously, Carol spent eight years with WUNC's nationally syndicated show The Story with Dick Gordon, serving as Managing Editor and Interim Senior Producer.
Stories, features and more by WUNC News Staff. Also, features and commentary not by any one reporter.
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