LIVE UPDATES: Midterm Election Results in the Carolinas

CHARLOTTE — Voters in North Carolina and South Carolina are making their voices heard for the 2026 midterm elections, and both states have seen a big increase in turnout.

Now, the question is who those voters are favoring between the Republican and Democratic parties. Two Senate seats are up for grabs, along with every U.S. House seat in the Carolinas, and there are plenty of eyes on how Carolinians will affect control of Congress.

Channel 9 Eyewitness News has crews following the latest updates and election results throughout the night. Scroll down for live updates.

Midterm Election Live Updates:

7 a.m. - Democrats capture both chambers of Congress

Democrats have regained control of the House and Senate after Tuesday’s midterm elections delivered stunning results in several battleground states across the country.

By early Wednesday, they had gained 19 seats and had secured a 228-139 advantage, with several races still to be decided, The Associated Press reported.

The more surprising results were delivered in the Senate where Democrats flipped seven seats, taking a 54-44 majority with two elections to be decided, according to the AP.

6:45 a.m. - North Carolinians voted in favor of three constitutional amendments targeting voter ID, income taxes and property taxes, according to unofficial results.

Some of the changes on the way will require action by state lawmakers. On property taxes, the amendment requires leaders to establish limits on how much local government can increase property tax levies.

The next step is certifying the results, and for some of the amendments, determining how they’ll be implemented.

5:30 a.m. - In NC-05, Democrat Chuck Hubbard leads over incumbent Virginia Foxx by just under 100 votes. While the Associated Press has yet to call this race, Hubbard is likely to take the win from the representative who’s held the seat since 2005.

11:45 p.m. - In a late-breaking development, Rep. Tim Moore has officially lost in NC-14. With all precincts reporting, Lakesha Womack has won the election with a 7,000-vote lead.

Moore served in the North Carolina state House for over 20 years before being elected to the U.S. House in 2024. Womack has never held a public office before.

11:10 p.m. - Live election night coverage is continuing on Channel 9 as we wait for the final votes to be tallied. Be sure to tap the link above for updated election results throughout the early morning.

10:50 p.m. - Nearly all of the precincts have reported in North Carolina, and many Congressional races still haven’t been called by the Associated Press yet.

We mentioned it earlier, but it increasingly looks like Rep. Tim Moore will not be re-elected in NC-14. Lakesha Womack is up 5,000 votes, and only two precincts in Mecklenburg County remain to be counted.

Womack, who has never run for office before, is likely going to be a member of Congress.

In NC-06, incumbent Rep. Addison McDowell is trailing by 3,000 votes with 18 precincts in Guilford County left. Democrat Cyril Jefferson is in the lead with 134,742 votes just before 11 p.m.

10:25 p.m. - Andrews wins South Carolina

ABC News declared Dr. Annie Andrews the winner of the U.S. Senate race in South Carolina. Andrews defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham after taking an early lead Tuesday night. Graham never caught up.

During a speech to her supporters, Andrews said she spoke with Graham, and Graham congratulated her.

In the North Carolina state House, Democrat Ken McCool flipped the House District 105 seat, defeating state Rep. Tricia Cotham 57%-43%. Cotham was first elected as a Democrat before changing parties to join the Republicans.

10:15 p.m. - ABC News projected that the Democrats will take control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the national balance of power in Congress.

10:10 p.m. - Republican Wes Climer has won the U.S. House race in South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District, the AP reported. Climer is replacing outgoing Rep. Ralph Norman, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in the state primary elections.

10:05 p.m. - Dr. Annie Andrews is declaring victory in the South Carolina U.S. Senate race. CNN has also called the race for Andrews over Sen. Darline Graham, but the Associated Press still hasn’t declared a winner.

9:55 p.m. - While the votes are still being counted, Alan Wilson declared victory in the South Carolina Governor’s Race. As of 9:55 p.m., Wilson led Democrat Jermaine Johnson by a little over 71,000 votes.

Republicans are leading in every statewide executive race in South Carolina, while Annie Andrews is hanging on to the lead in the U.S. Senate race.

In the North Carolina State House, Democrats flipped two seats in Cabarrus County. Thomas Monks beat state Rep. Jonathan Almond 54%-46%, and Chris Bishopp won over state Rep. Brian Echevarria 56%-44%. Democrat April Cook won the state Senate District 34 seat in Cabarrus County as well, defeating state Sen. Kevin Crutchfield 58%-42%.

>>Tune in to TV64 at 10 p.m. and Channel 9 at 11 p.m. for live coverage and the latest updates from the field.

9:35 p.m. - Virginia Foxx and Mark Harris are the first Republican Congressional candidates in North Carolina to overtake the Democratic challengers, as of the latest ballot results at 9:30 p.m.

The NC-5 race is tight after Hubbard took an early lead, but Foxx is now leading the race by just under 3,000 votes.

In NC-8, Harris caught up to challenger Colby Watson after the first wave of early voting results. At this point, Harris leads Watson with 128,459 votes to 127,097.

9:20 p.m. - Congressional races are getting more interesting as several North Carolina districts are nearly tied as votes continue to be tallied. In North Carolina, about 50% of all precincts have been reported now.

Joe Bruno is keeping his eye on NC-14, where incumbent Republican Rep. Tim Moore is fighting to catch up to Democrat Lakesha Womack.

In South Carolina, Republican Wes Climer has taken the lead in Congressional District 5 over Democrat Mallory Dittmer. In SC-7, incumbent Republican Rep. Russell Fry was declared the winner over Democrat John Vincent.

8:55 p.m. - While Roy Cooper spoke to his supporters after winning the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina, the U.S. Senate race in South Carolina continues to see a lead grow for Democrat Annie Andrews. With a little over a million votes tallied so far, Andrews has a 52% to 46% lead over Sen. Darline Graham.

Cooper told the crowd he will be an “independent voice” in the Senate and that he is ready to work with anyone. He said he wants to end the Iran war, reduce gas prices, and protect Medicaid expansion.

Congressional races in North Carolina are tightening up as Democratic candidates still hold leads in the state. The Associated Press called the race in NC Congressional District 11, which had previously been held by a Republican, for Democrat Jamie Ager.

In the North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice race, incumbent Anita Earls was declared the winner over Sarah Stevens.

8:30 p.m. - Michael Whatley called Roy Cooper to congratulate him on his victory in the North Carolina U.S. Senate race, Channel 9 Reporter Jonathan Lowe learned Tuesday evening.

Channel 9’s Joe Bruno is in Raleigh, where Gov. Josh Stein addressed a crowd of supporters to congratulate Cooper.

>> Click/tap this link for Channel 9’s Special Election Stream <<

In South Carolina, Rep. James Clyburn won reelection to the 6th Congressional District, the AP reported.

8:20 p.m. - Cooper Wins North Carolina

The first results in North Carolina have been posted, and the Tar Heel State clearly showed up for early voting.

Former Gov. Roy Cooper has a commanding lead over Republican candidate Michael Whatley. With over 2.1 million votes counted, Cooper leads Whatley with 67.65% of the vote. The Associated Press already called the race and declared Cooper the winner.

Democrats are also out in front in every Congressional race. The AP called the race for NC’s 12th Congressional District and declared Democrat Alma Adams the winner.

8 p.m. - There may be an upset brewing in South Carolina. With hundreds of thousands of votes now counted, Democrat Annie Andrews has increased her lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Darline Graham. With 67 precincts reporting and about 330,000 votes counted, Andrews leads Graham by about 12,500 votes.

Republicans are in the lead across other statewide races in South Carolina, including governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.

7:30 p.m. - While we’re still waiting for the first results to be posted from North Carolina, we’re starting to see a trickle of results from the Palmetto State.

It’s still way too early to call, but Democrat Annie Andrews led Republican Sen. Darline Graham by just about 1,900 votes in the first batch of vote totals. However, with millions of votes still left to be tallied, the race has the potential to flip back and forth throughout the night.

But at the same time that Andrews is leading the Senate race, Republican Alan Wilson is leading the gubernatorial race over Democrat Jermaine Johnson.

We’re expecting the first numbers from North Carolina at around 8:15 p.m.

7 p.m. - Polls are now closed in South Carolina, though any voters still in line will be able to cast their ballots.

ABC News election coverage is also starting now, and you can watch live at the top of this page or on the WSOC Now app on your TV or streaming device.

5:45 p.m. - South Carolina broke the record for votes in the gubernatorial election, the state announced Tuesday evening.

According to the South Carolina Elections Commission, 1,797,335 voted as of 4:30 p.m. That works out to a little over 53% of all registered voters, which is still just shy of the record percentage turnout of 54.6%, set in 2022.

5 p.m. - Polls are set to close at 7 p.m. in South Carolina and 7:30 p.m. in North Carolina. However, the North Carolina State Board of Elections extended voting due to technical issues at five precincts in four counties: Columbus, Hertford, Lenoir, and Wilson counties.

Due to the extension, we’re expecting to get our first round of election results in North Carolina around 8:15 p.m.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Roy Cooper brings campaign to Concord ahead of Election Day
• Michael Whatley visits Concord ahead of Election Day
• President Trump rallies in South Carolina ahead of midterms
• South Carolina Senate race heats up over campaign advertisement disputes
• Annie Andrews gains support from former rival governors in US Senate race

Channel 9 Reporters on the Ground

Here’s where our team of reporters is gathering information in North Carolina and South Carolina:

• Channel 9 Government Reporter Joe Bruno: In Raleigh to cover the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina between Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley
• Jonathan Lowe: In Gastonia to cover the Cooper/Whatley race.
• Channel 9 South Carolina Reporter Tina Terry: In Columbia to cover the U.S. Senate race in South Carolina between Sen. Darline Graham and Dr. Annie Andrews.
• Eli Brand: In Charleston to cover the Graham/Andrews race.
• Ken Lemon: In Columbia to cover the South Carolina gubernatorial race between Alan Wilson and Jermaine Johnson.
• Evan Donovan: In the Channel 9 studio with breaking election updates and candidate speeches throughout the night. >> Click/tap this link for Channel 9’s Special Election Stream starting at 7:30 p.m. <<

Channel 9 has a complete list of the races, polling locations and the candidates in your area. Voters can search by county for everything they need to know in our Political Beat Candidate Guide.

National Balance of Power

Eyes are on Congressional races across the country as polls show many close races in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

The Associated Press is tracking results from outside the Carolinas. Tap the map below for more updates.

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