Roy Cooper has been reelected as North Carolina’s governor, with the Democratic incumbent beating Republican challenger and current Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.
With 2,236 of 2,662 precincts reporting, Cooper has a 264,000-vote advantage, taking 51.8% of the vote to Forest’s 46.8%.
Cooper had a 2,723,919 to 2,459,869 vote advantage.
The race was considered a referendum on Cooper’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in North Carolina, with the governor garnering criticism for being too slow to reopen the state by business leaders.
The N.C. State Board of Elections (NCSBE) will continue to accept absentee ballots through Nov. 12. Due to the extended deadline for those ballots, results reported on election night may change.
