Ninety-nine days until Election Day, North Carolina remains steady with two nationally-watched toss-up races for Congress. The U.S. Senate race between Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley is a toss-up, according to renowned nonpartisan digital platform 270towin and a July 10-11 poll from Public Policy Polling.
Key Races
The 1st Congressional District race of incumbent Democratic Rep. Don Davis and Republican Laurie Buckhout is also a toss-up at 270towin. The Cook Political Report, another respected nonpartisan political newsletter, “leans Democrat” for Cooper and “leans Republican” for Buckhout.
Statewide polls have trended with Cooper in front, but they’ve also been within the margin of error, or a statistical tie, in the closely watched state Supreme Court election between incumbent Democratic Justice Anita Earls and former state Rep. Sarah Stevens.
Historical Context
Majority power in the Senate and House of Representatives figures to be impacted by each of the races in North Carolina. Republicans have 53 seats in the upper chamber, and 218 in the lower chamber where there are four vacancies and one independent formerly a Republican and still caucusing with them.
The last time the U.S. House representative in the northeastern part of the state was won by a Republican was the 1882 election. That was 71 U.S. House elections ago. Beaufort, Hyde, Dare, Craven, Pamlico, and Carteret counties change from the 3rd to the 1st Congressional District; Wilson, Wayne, Greene, and Lenoir counties change from the 1st to the 3rd.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
