Incumbent Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper defeated Republican North Carolina Lieutenant Gov. Dan Forest and secured a second term Tuesday.
The Associated Press has called the race for Cooper, as reported by Fox 8. The New York Times has Cooper beating Forest 51.6% to 47% with 93% of the vote reported. Cooper was elected by a .2% margin in 2016 according to The New York Times.
BREAKING: Democrat Roy Cooper wins reelection for governor in North Carolina. #APracecall at 10:35 p.m. EST. #Election2020 #NCelection
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 4, 2020
Polls tracked by FiveThirtyEight had Cooper winning by anywhere between one and 19%, with most of the polls showing an eight or nine point victory. (RELATED: Election Night: Here’s What To Look For And When You Can Expect Results)
Four more years. pic.twitter.com/Bc6Tr35HGE
— Roy Cooper (@RoyCooperNC) November 4, 2020
Then-incumbent Republican North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory challenged the results of the 2016 gubernatorial election by filing complaints across the state, many of which were dismissed by county election boards controlled by Republicans, per POLITICO.
However, North Carolina’s State Board of Elections did grant McCrory’s request for a recount of 90,000 votes in Durham County, The News&Observer reported. By the end of the recount, McCrory had not taken the lead, and he conceded the race on December 5.