2020 North Carolina Senate election

Not to be confused with 2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina.

2020 North Carolina Senate election

November 3, 2020 (2020-11-03)
All 50 seats in the North Carolina Senate 26 (without Lieutenant Governor) seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Phil Berger Dan Blue Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 1, 2005 March 2, 2014 Leader's seat District 30 District 14 Last election 29 21 Seats won 28 22 Seat change 1 1
President pro tempore before election Phil Berger Republican Elected President pro tempore TBD TBD

An election was held on November 3, 2020 to elect all 50 members to North Carolina's Senate. The election coincided with the elections for other offices, including the Presidency, U.S Senate, Governor, U.S. House of Representatives, and state house. The primary election was held on March 3, 2020 with a run-off on June 23, 2020.

Background

In October 2020, The Washington Post identified this state election, along with the concurrent North Carolina House of Representatives election, as one of eight whose outcomes could affect partisan balance during post-census redistricting. New districts are being used in this election.

Results summary

Incumbents defeated in primary election

• Eddie Gallimore (R-District 29), defeated by Steve Jarvis (R)

Incumbents defeated in general election

• Harper Peterson (D-District 9), defeated by Michael Lee (R)

Open seats that changed parties

• John Alexander (R-District 18) didn't seek re-election, seat won by Sarah Crawford (D)
• Rob Bryan (R-District 39) didn't seek re-election, seat won by DeAndrea Salvador (D)

Detailed results

Districts 1-25

District 1

Incumbent Republican Bob Steinburg has represented the 1st district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 1st district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Steinburg (incumbent)	58,319	55.24%
	Democratic	Tess Judge	47,248	44.76%
Total votes			105,567	100%
	Republican hold

District 2

Incumbent Republican Norman Sanderson has represented the 2nd district since 2013.

North Carolina Senate 2nd district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Norman Sanderson (incumbent)	63,014	63.16%
	Democratic	Libbie Griffin	32,870	32.95%
	Libertarian	Tim Harris	3,884	3.89%
Total votes			99,768	100%
	Republican hold

District 3

Incumbent Democrat Erica Smith has represented the 3rd district since 2015.
Smith ran unsuccessfully for the U.S Senate, losing the Democratic primary to Cal Cunningham.

North Carolina Senate 3rd district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ernestine (Byrd) Bazemore	45,507	52.03%
	Republican	Thomas S. Hester, Jr.	41,959	47.97%
Total votes			87,466	100%
	Democratic hold

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Milton F. (Toby) Fitch, Jr. has represented the 4th district since 2018.

North Carolina Senate 4th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Milton F. (Toby) Fitch, Jr. (incumbent)	51,384	57.16%
	Republican	Sammy Davis Webb	38,514	42.84%
Total votes			89,898	100%
	Democratic hold

District 5

Incumbent Democrat Donald G. Davis has represented the 5th district since 2013, and previously from 2009 to 2011.

North Carolina Senate 5th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Donald G. Davis (incumbent)	51,702	55.12%
	Republican	Karen Kozel	42,104	44.88%
Total votes			93,806	100%
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent Republican Majority Leader Harry Brown has represented the 6th district since 2004.
Brown is not seeking re-election.

North Carolina Senate 6th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael A. Lazzara	49,007	65.48%
	Democratic	Isaiah (Ike) Johnson	25,831	34.52%
Total votes			74,838	100%
	Republican hold

District 7

Incumbent Republican Jim Perry has represented the 7th district since 2019.
Perry is seeking his first full term.

North Carolina Senate 7th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Perry (incumbent)	45,364	55.25%
	Democratic	Donna Lake	36,737	44.75%
Total votes			82,101	100%
	Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent Republican Bill Rabon has represented the 8th district since 2011.

North Carolina Senate 8th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Rabon (incumbent)	85,484	62.01%
	Democratic	David Sink	48,040	34.85%
	Libertarian	Anthony Mascolo	4,335	3.14%
Total votes			137,859	100%
	Republican hold

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Harper Peterson has represented the 9th district since 2019.
Republican Michael Lee who held this seat before Peterson is seeking the seat again.

North Carolina Senate 9th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael Lee	63,255	50.51%
	Democratic	Harper Peterson (incumbent)	61,987	49.49%
Total votes			125,242	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 10

Incumbent Republican Brent Jackson has represented the 10th district since 2011.

North Carolina Senate 10th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brent Jackson (incumbent)	56,740	65.09%
	Democratic	Vernon R. Moore	30,425	34.91%
Total votes			87,165	100%
	Republican hold

District 11

Incumbent Republican Rick Horner has represented the 11th district since 2017.
Horner is not seeking re-election. Representative Lisa Stone Barnes is the Republican nominee and former state Senator Allen Wellons is the Democratic nominee.

North Carolina Senate 11th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lisa Stone Barnes	61,287	54.98%
	Democratic	Allen Wellons	50,193	45.02%
Total votes			111,479	100%
	Republican hold

District 12

Incumbent Republican Jim Burgin has represented the 12th district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 12th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Burgin (incumbent)	57,295	60.84%
	Democratic	John Kirkman	36,875	39.16%
Total votes			94,170	100%
	Republican hold

District 13

Incumbent Republican Danny Earl Britt, Jr. has represented the 13th district since 2017.

North Carolina Senate 13th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Danny Earl Britt, Jr. (incumbent)	45,264	63.56%
	Democratic	Barbara Yates-Lockamy	25,949	36.44%
Total votes			71,213	100%
	Republican hold

District 14

Incumbent Democrat Minority Leader Dan Blue has represented the 14th district since 2009.

North Carolina Senate 14th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan Blue (incumbent)	78,811	72.68%
	Republican	Alan David Michael	24,678	22.76%
	Libertarian	Justin Walczak	4,949	4.56%
Total votes			108,438	100%
	Democratic hold

District 15

Incumbent Democrat Jay Chaudhuri has represented the 15th district and its predecessors since 2016.

North Carolina Senate district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jay Chaudhuri (incumbent)	71,700	58.01%
	Republican	Mario J. Lomuscio	45,457	36.78%
	Libertarian	Kat McDonald	6,441	5.21%
Total votes			123,598	100%
	Democratic hold

District 16

Incumbent Democrat Wiley Nickel has represented the 16th district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wiley Nickel (incumbent)	80,530	65.65%
	Republican	Will Marsh	42,144	34.35%
Total votes			122,674	100%
	Democratic hold

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Sam Searcy has represented the 17th district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 17th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sam Searcy (incumbent)	83,564	51.41%
	Republican	Mark Cavaliero	72,774	44.77%
	Libertarian	Travis Groo	6,204	3.82%
Total votes			162,542	100%
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Republican John Alexander has represented the 18th district and its predecessors since 2015.
Alexander is not seeking re-election.

North Carolina Senate 18th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sarah Crawford	67,912	52.08%
	Republican	Larry E. Norman	57,890	44.40%
	Libertarian	Jason Loeback	4,595	3.52%
Total votes			130,397	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 19

Incumbent Democrat Kirk deViere has represented the 19th district since 2019.
Former Senator Wesley Meredith is seeking a rematch with DeViere.

North Carolina Senate 19th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kirk deViere (incumbent)	46,740	51.53%
	Republican	Wesley Meredith	43,966	48.47%
Total votes			90,706	100%
	Democratic hold

District 20

Incumbent Democrat Natalie Murdock has represented the 20th district since 2020.
Murdock is seeking her first full term.

North Carolina Senate 20th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Natalie Murdock (incumbent)	102,732	83.61%
	Republican	John Tarantino	20,143	16.39%
Total votes			122,875	100%
	Democratic hold

District 21

Incumbent Democrat Ben Clark has represented the 21st district since 2013.

North Carolina Senate 21st district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark (incumbent)	50,105	68.02%
	Republican	Sev Palacios	23,557	31.98%
Total votes			73,662	100%
	Democratic hold

District 22

Incumbent Democrat Mike Woodard has represented the 22nd district since 2013.

North Carolina Senate 22nd district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Woodard (incumbent)	60,402	58.43%
	Republican	Rick Padgett	39,792	38.50%
	Libertarian	Ray Ubinger	3,175	3.07%
Total votes			103,369	100%
	Democratic hold

District 23

Incumbent Democrat Valerie Foushee has represented the 23rd district since 2013.

North Carolina Senate 23rd district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Valerie Foushee (incumbent)	88,429	68.31%
	Republican	Tom Glendinning	41,016	31.69%
Total votes			129,445	100%
	Democratic hold

District 24

Incumbent Republican Rick Gunn has represented the 24th district since 2011.
Gunn is not seeking re-election.

North Carolina Senate 24th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Amy S. Galey	61,287	52.43%
	Democratic	J.D. Wooten	55,609	47.57%
Total votes			116,896	100%
	Republican hold

District 25

Incumbent Republican Tom McInnis has represented the 25th district since 2015.

North Carolina Senate 25th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom McInnis (incumbent)	60,152	59.15%
	Democratic	Helen Probst Mills	41,546	40.85%
Total votes			101,698	100%
	Republican hold

Districts 26-50

District 26

incumbent Republican David Craven has represented the 26th district since his appointment in 2020. Craven is seeking his first full term.

North Carolina Senate 26th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David (Dave) Craven (incumbent)	63,077	70.33%
	Democratic	Jane Ledwell Gant	26,609	29.67%
Total votes			89,686	100%
	Republican hold

District 27

Incumbent Democrat Michael Garrett has represented the 27th district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 27th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Garrett (incumbent)	67,287	54.32%
	Republican	Sebastian King	56,575	45.68%
Total votes			123,862	100%
	Democratic hold

District 28

Incumbent Democrat Gladys Robinson has represented the 28th district since 2011.

North Carolina Senate 28th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gladys Robinson (incumbent)	75,640	76.34%
	Republican	D.R. King	23,440	23.66%
Total votes			99,080	100%
	Democratic hold

District 29

Incumbent Republican Eddie Gallimore has represented the 29th district since 2019.
Gallimore lost re-nomination to representative Steve Jarvis.

North Carolina Senate 29th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Jarvis	74,210	74.49%
	Democratic	Duskin Lassiter	25,409	25.51%
Total votes			99,619	100%
	Republican hold

District 30

Incumbent Republican President Pro Tempore Phil Berger has represented the 30th district and its predecessors since 2001.

North Carolina Senate 30th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil Berger (incumbent)	68,708	68.58%
	Democratic	Wally White	31,481	31.42%
Total votes			100,189	100%
	Republican hold

District 31

Incumbent Republican Joyce Krawiec has represented the 31st district since 2014.

North Carolina Senate 31st district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joyce Krawiec (incumbent)	56,479	53.08%
	Democratic	Terri Elizabeth LeGrand	49,929	46.92%
Total votes			106,408	100%
	Republican hold

District 32

Incumbent Democrat Paul Lowe, Jr. has represented the 32nd district since 2015.

North Carolina Senate 32nd district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Lowe, Jr. (incumbent)	67,293	59.40%
	Republican	Ven Challa	45,995	40.60%
Total votes			113,288	100%
	Democratic hold

District 33

Incumbent Republican Carl Ford has represented the 33rd district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 33rd district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Carl Ford (incumbent)	73,453	70.54%
	Democratic	Tarsha Ellis	30,679	29.46%
Total votes			104,132	100%
	Republican hold

District 34

Incumbent Republican Vickie Sawyer has represented the 34th district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 34th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Vickie Sawyer (incumbent)	83,707	71.01%
	Democratic	Barry Templeton	34,172	28.99%
Total votes			117,879	100%
	Republican hold

District 35

Incumbent Republican Todd Johnson has represented the 35th district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 35th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Todd Johnson (incumbent)	75,055	63.45%
	Democratic	Jose Santiago	43,244	36.55%
Total votes			118,299	100%
	Republican hold

District 36

Incumbent Republican Paul R. Newton has represented the 36th district since 2017.

North Carolina Senate 36th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul R. Newton (incumbent)	69,932	57.71%
	Democratic	Marcus J. Singleton	51,249	42.29%
Total votes			121,181	100%
	Republican hold

District 37

Incumbent Democrat Jeff Jackson has represented the 37th district since 2014.

North Carolina Senate 37th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jeff Jackson (incumbent)	64,562	54.99%
	Republican	Sonja P. Nichols	48,507	41.32%
	Libertarian	Jeff Scott	4,336	3.69%
Total votes			117,405	100%
	Democratic hold

District 38

Incumbent Democrat Mujtaba A. Mohammed has represented the 38th district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 38th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mujtaba A. Mohammed (incumbent)	82,871	78.14%
	Republican	Jack W. Brosch	23,187	21.86%
Total votes			106,058	100%
	Democratic hold

District 39

Incumbent Republican Rob Bryan has represented the 39th district snce his appointment on October 2, 2019.
Bryan is not seeking re-election.

North Carolina Senate 39th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	DeAndrea Salvador	68,752	62.18%
	Republican	Joshua Niday	41,823	37.82%
Total votes			110,575	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 40

Incumbent Democrat Joyce Waddell has represented the 40th district since 2015.

North Carolina Senate 40th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joyce Waddell (incumbent)	64,278	72.07%
	Republican	Bobbie Shields	24,906	27.93%
Total votes			89,184	100%
	Democratic hold

District 41

Incumbent Democrat Natasha Marcus has represented the 41st district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 41st district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Natasha Marcus (incumbent)	82,741	71.93%
	Constitution	Christopher Cole	32,295	28.07%
Total votes			115,036	100%
	Democratic hold

District 42

Incumbent Republican Andy Wells has represented the 42nd district since 2015. Wells ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in the 2020 election, losing the Republican primary to Mark Robinson. Wells resigned before the end of his term and Republican nominee H. Dean Proctor was appointed to the seat on August 18, 2020. Proctor has an incumbency advantage going into the election.

North Carolina Senate 42nd district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	H. Dean Proctor (incumbent)	72,228	71.27%
	Democratic	Tina R. Miles	29,111	28.73%
Total votes			101,339	100%
	Republican hold

District 43

Incumbent Republican Kathy Harrington has represented the 43rd district since 2011.

North Carolina Senate 43rd district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kathy Harrington (incumbent)	69,409	65.43%
	Democratic	William Young	36,670	34.57%
Total votes			106,079	100%
	Republican hold

District 44

Incumbent Republican Ted Alexander has represented the 44th district since 2019.

North Carolina Senate 44th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ted Alexander (incumbent)	73,513	70.78%
	Democratic	David Lee Lattimore	30,354	29.22%
Total votes			103,867	100%
	Republican hold

District 45

Incumbent Republican Deanna Ballard has represented the 45th district since 2016.

North Carolina Senate 45th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Deanna Ballard (incumbent)	71,897	68.45%
	Democratic	Jeanne Supin	33,139	31.55%
Total votes			105,036	100%
	Republican hold

District 46

Incumbent Republican Warren Daniel has represented the 46th district and its predecessors since 2011.

North Carolina Senate 46th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Warren Daniel (incumbent)	67,919	72.28%
	Democratic	Edward Phifer	26,045	27.72%
Total votes			93,964	100%
	Republican hold

District 47

Incumbent Republican Ralph Hise has represented the 47th district since 2011.

North Carolina Senate 47th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Hise (incumbent)	68,440	68.44%
	Democratic	David Brian Wheeler	31,554	31.56%
Total votes			99,997	100%
	Republican hold

District 48

Incumbent Republican Chuck Edwards has represented the 48th district since 2016.

North Carolina Senate 48th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Edwards (incumbent)	68,197	58.90%
	Democratic	Brian Caskey	47,580	41.10%
Total votes			115,777	100%
	Republican hold

District 49

Incumbent Democrat Terry Van Duyn has represented the 49th district since 2014.
Van Duyn ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in the 2020 election, losing the Democratic primary to Yvonne Lewis Holley.

North Carolina Senate 48th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Julie Mayfield	80,159	62.72%
	Republican	Bob Penland	47,647	37.28%
Total votes			127,806	100%
	Democratic hold

District 50

Incumbent Republican Jim Davis has represented the 50th district since 2011. Davis is not seeking re-election, as he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S House.
State representative Kevin Corbin is the Republican nominee.

North Carolina Senate 50th district general election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kevin Corbin	73,875	66.66%
	Democratic	Victoria Fox	36,954	33.34%
Total votes			110,829	100%
	Republican hold

See also

• 2020 North Carolina elections

External links

• "North Carolina NAACP v. North Carolina State Board of Elections", Freespeechforpeople.org. (Lawsuit about electronic voting system, "ExpressVote", a product of Election Systems & Software, LLC)
• North Carolina at Ballotpedia
• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "North Carolina", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "North Carolina: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• Henderson County Public Library, 2020 Election Guide: North Carolina Elections, Hendersonville
• "League of Women Voters of North Carolina". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• National Institute on Money in Politics; Campaign Finance Institute, "North Carolina 2019 & 2020 Elections", Followthemoney.org
• "Election Guides: North Carolina", Spreadthevote.org. (Guidance to help voters get to the polls; addresses transport, childcare, work, information challenges)