ELECTION RESULTS: Cheri Beasley sweeps the state, Ted Budd close behind

North Carolina’s US Senate primary election was over almost as soon as it began, with early voting giving Democrat Cheri Beasley an insurmountable lead and putting Rep. Ted Budd ahead of the Republican pack to stay.

At press time Beasley, the former chief justice of the NC Supreme Court, won literally every single county in the state in her pursuit to flip the seat now held by Republican Richard Burr. She captured about 85 percent of early voting totals, putting her hundreds of thousands of votes ahead of her nearest contenders, none of whom got more than 5 percent.

Budd similarly swept the state with the exception of Mecklenberg County, which former NC Governor and Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory narrowly won. Budd was the preferred candidate of former President Trump. Former Congressman Mark Walker, who said he declined Trump’s suggestion that he drop out of the race, garnered less that 10 percent of the vote.

Budd and Beasley will face off in the General Election on Nov. 8.

In local Congressional races, Rep. Virginia Foxx carried the District 5 Republican primary with 76.6 percent of the vote. The newly drawn district now reaches from a corner of Winston-Salem into a tiny slice of Boone. She has no Democrat challenger in November so she will continue her duties in the House.

In Congressional District 6, which covers Guilford, Rockingham and Caswell counties as well as the eastern wedge of Forsyth that includes Winston-Salem and Kernersville, incumbent Democrat Rep. Kathy Manning will face Republican Christian Casstelli in November. Casstelli narrowly defeated Lee Haywood in a crowded Republican primary, ceding only Guilford to the Greensboro resident.

Democrat primaries in three NC House districts were resolved on Tuesday.

In District 59, Greensboro resident Sherrie Young captured nearly 75 percent of the vote despite having neither a website nor a social media presence. She will face incumbent Republican Jon Hardister in November.

Democrat Kanika Brown took 47.8 percent of the votes in a three-way race to win Forsyth County’s District 71 primary; she will face no Republican challenger in November, effectively winning the seat on Tuesday. She finished more than nine pints ahead of her nearest challenger, Fred Terry, the husband of incumbent Evelyn Terry who stepped down from the seat last year.

In Forsyth County’s District 74, currently held by incumbent Republican Jeff Zenger, Democrat Carla Catalán Day secured 68.6 percent of the vote to face him in November.

In District 91, which holds the northern tier of Forsyth County as well as the entirety of Stokes, incumbent Rep. Kyle Hall took 83 percent of the votes to win the Republican primary; he will not face a Democrat challenger in November.

Turnout was high for a primary election. In Forsyth County, 16.5 percent for the electorate turned out to vote, compared to 11.6 percent in the 2018 midterm primary. Guilford posted 20.4 percent turnout against 11.3 in 2018.