SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — The unofficial tallies have come in for the midterm elections. By the looks of it, Republicans have outpaced Democrats for multiple wins in the tri-county region.

Results from the election are not official until the canvass takes place: County and local boards will be official Nov. 18, with state races finalized Nov. 29.

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In New Hanover County, Republicans shut out the Democrats in a razor-thin school board race. The only incumbent to keep his seat, one of four open, is Republican Pete Wildeboer, who received 13.05% of votes, trailing behind top vote-getter, Republican Pat Bradford, at 13.12%.

“We own the night,” Wildeboer said Tuesday evening at Kickback Jacks, where the GOP was hosting its party as election results were rolling in.

Democrats, including incumbents Nelson Beaulieu and Judy Justice, as well as Veronica McLaurin-Brown and Dorian Cromartie, showed an advantage in early voting numbers. Wildeboer was confident his party would make up ground with day-of constituents casting ballots.

The board will lose Beaulieu, who received the least amount of support at 11.50%, and Justice, tracking only slightly above with 12.03% of votes. GOP candidates Melissa Mason (12.91%) and Josie Barnhart (12.92%) will take over if results are not contested.

Close races — those separated by less than 1% of the total vote — may be subject to a recount.

The New Hanover Board of Commissioners will have a new member in Republican LeAnn Pierce, who garnered the most support with 27.30% of the votes. Democrat incumbent Rob Zapple, coming in second with 25.97%, will hold onto his seat.

Local sheriff races didn’t mark a change in leadership. Democrat Ed McMahon has secured another term — he was first elected in 2010 — against Republican Matt Rhodes. In both Brunswick and Pender, the races weren’t contested, with John Ingram and Alan Cutler continuing to serve respectively.

Statewide, the stakes were high, as Republican leadership in the general assembly needed only two Senate seats and three House seats to take a supermajority to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto power. Michael Lee was one of the candidates the GOP was depending on in a swing district. 

Before precincts turned over day-of voting results, early cast ballots favored Democrat Marcia Morgan by nearly seven points over incumbent Lee in the District 7 race.

New Hanover GOP Chair Will Knecht wasn’t fazed by the spread. Traditionally, more Democrats go to the polls early.

“It’s expected,” Knecht said. “That’s what happens with Republicans and Democrats. Republicans have a tradition of voting on Election Day.”

Across town at Hops Supply Company, the Democrats were gathering for election night results and hopeful celebrations.

New Hanover Democratic Chair Andre Brown told Port City Daily around 8 p.m. it was too early to tell how the races would shake out.

“The numbers were down a couple percentages since 2018,” Brown said. “I don’t know how to read that.”

Little by little, as tabulations ticked up, Morgan and Lee were only separated by 688 votes at one point. But by 10:30 p.m., Lee pulled ahead to win the race by more than 2,000 votes.

The Raleigh News & Observer reported Tuesday evening his victory, along with Republican incumbent Bobby Hanig of Senate District 3 in Eastern North Carolina, have cleared a potential path for the supermajority to return to the Senate, though the GOP remains just shy of winning the House to secure veto power. 

Morgan joined forces in the final weeks of campaigning with incumbent and House representative Deb Butler (D-18) and House candidate Amy Block DeLoach (D-20). Pink signs denoted “Trust Women Vote!” as the three banded together to fight for multiple issues and predominantly — after the overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier in the spring — a woman’s right to choose.

Butler kept her seat against Republican John Hinnant by more than 2,000 votes, while DeLoach lost to incumbent Republican Ted Davis by just over 1,000 votes.

In Brunswick County, Republican Frank Iller held off challenger Eric Terashima, a Democrat, with 62.40% of the vote.

At the federal level, Republicans need a net gain of five seats to take the majority in the House, while the Senate, also controlled by Democrats, could change if the GOP takes one net seat to take the majority. As of Wednesday morning, control of Congress — both House and Senate — continued to hang in the balance.

On a local level, U.S. House District 7 Rep. David Rouzer, a Republican, had only a 0.97% edge, or 1,805 votes, over Democrat Charles Graham in New Hanover County. Though in Pender and Brunswick the margins were larger, with Rouzer garnering over 60% of the vote. The district covers a seven-county region, including Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, and Robeson. In the end, Rouzer secured his seat with 57.83% of the votes.

Replacing outgoing Republican Senator Richard Burr, who did not seek reelection, Republican Ted Budd — endorsed by former president Donald Trump at a rally in Wilmington earlier in the fall — won by 50.8%. He faced off against former N.C. Supreme Court chief justice Cheri Beasley, who would have become the state’s first Black female Senator, had she won.

In New Hanover, Beasley was ahead by over one percentage point, while in Brunswick and Pender, primarily with more Republican voters, the spread grew by 30%.

All results below were pulled from the North Carolina Board of Elections on Election Day.

New Hanover County

As of 10:17 p.m., all precincts were reported, with 92,688 out of 180,050 registered voters casting ballots.

Pender County

All precincts were reported at 10:41 p.m. Around 19,134 out of 47,838 registered voters cast ballots.

Brunswick County

In Brunswick, all precincts were reported as of 10:12 p.m., with 72,617 out of 126,260 registered voters casting ballots.

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