Cabarrus County voters will help decide who fills North Carolina's open U.S. Senate seat when polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Election results are pending. This article will be updated as election officials release vote totals.

Four candidates appear on the ballot, according to the Cabarrus County voter guide compiled from N.C. State Board of Elections records: Democrat Roy Cooper, Republican Michael Whatley, Libertarian Shannon W. Bray and Green Party candidate Michael Dublin. The seat is open because Republican Sen. Thom Tillis chose not to seek reelection.

The winner will serve a six-year term and be sworn in Jan. 3, 2027.

Official results will be posted on the N.C. State Board of Elections results dashboard as they become available after polls close.

The candidates

Roy Cooper is the former two-term governor of North Carolina, serving from 2017 to 2025. Before that he served as state attorney general before becoming governor, according to the Concord-Harrisburg Herald's candidate profile. Cooper has said he wants to "make stuff cost less" for families and has called tariffs "chaotic and irrational." He has also said he would work to restructure FEMA and protect Medicaid and Medicare.

Michael Whatley is the former chair of the Republican National Committee and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump. According to Ballotpedia, Whatley has campaigned on public safety and support for Trump's agenda. A spokesperson for Whatley's campaign said he "supports efforts to make federal disaster management more efficient," according to Ballotpedia.

Shannon W. Bray, the Libertarian nominee, is a U.S. Navy veteran, cybersecurity professional and enterprise architect, according to The News & Observer's candidate questionnaire. He was also the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina in 2022. Bray has said his top priority is "restoring accountable, constitutional government."

Michael Dublin, the Green Party nominee, is a retired middle school teacher, Marine Corps veteran and co-chair of the N.C. Green Party's Black Caucus, according to the Herald's candidate profile. His platform calls for a Green New Deal, publicly funded universal health care and a $25 federal minimum wage.

What polling shows

An Oct. 1–20 High Point University/YouGov online poll of 620 likely voters put Cooper at 54% and Whatley at 40%. Its credibility interval was ±4.7 percentage points.

Why it matters locally

The U.S. Senate race appears on every Cabarrus County ballot. Republicans hold a 53-45 majority in the Senate, with two independents, according to WBTV. With Tillis a Republican, a Cooper victory would flip the seat. North Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 2008, according to AP decision notes published by U.S. News.

Polling hours and what to expect

Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections. Any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote. Voters will be asked to show a photo ID.

Most North Carolina counties are expected to release mail-voting results in the first updates of the night, before in-person Election Day results, according to AP decision notes. About 3.7 million votes were cast in the 2022 U.S. Senate race in North Carolina, and about 58% of those were cast early or by absentee ballot, according to the AP.

There are no automatic recounts in North Carolina. Candidates may request a recount if the margin is less than 0.5% of total votes or fewer than 10,000 votes in statewide races, according to the AP.

Registered voters can find their polling place and sample ballot through the NCSBE Voter Search tool.