Wednesday afternoon former Raleigh Mayor Tom Bradshaw congratulated opponent John Alexander on winning their race for the North Carolina Senate, after Wake County Board of Elections officials gave the final results of a re-count.
Bradshaw and Alexander’s race to represent a portion of northern Wake County -- the only one in the General Assembly to go to a re-count after this month’s election -- came down to 701 votes, or about .86 percent of the turn-out. The contest was one of a mere dozen or so that were competitive in the 170-seat body.
During the campaign, Alexander, who owns Cardinal International Trucks in Raleigh, said his primary goal was to work on K-12 education issues. Bradshaw told supporters in a letter that he also planned to advocate for public school teacher pay despite losing the race.
"We must pay teachers and all educators fairly, show them the respect they deserve and provide all of our schools with the resources and the support they need to give our students the best possible education," Bradshaw wrote.
With Alexander’s victory, the Republicans comfortably have a 34-16 majority over Democrats in the Senate -- enough to be able to override a gubernatorial veto without a single vote from the opposing party.