Last Updated on November 3, 2026 9:17 pm

Unofficial results. Updated 9:20 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. The numbers below come from the N.C. State Board of Elections. Statewide posting was delayed about 45 minutes because voting hours were extended at a few sites in other counties. Ashe County has all 17 precincts reporting, Watauga County has 18 of 20, and Avery County has 10 of 19. This page will be updated through the night.

U.S. Senate

Area	Roy Cooper (D)	Michael Whatley (R)	Reporting
Statewide	1,900,861 (60.12%)	1,198,066 (37.89%)	1,145 of 2,626 precincts
Watauga	13,339 (63.41%)	7,172 (34.10%)	18 of 20 precincts
Ashe	4,464 (37.92%)	6,951 (59.05%)	17 of 17 precincts
Avery	1,710 (34.79%)	3,094 (62.95%)	10 of 19 precincts

U.S. House

District 5 (Watauga and Ashe)

Area	Chuck Hubbard (D)	Virginia Foxx (R)	Robert Luffman (L)
Watauga (18 of 20 precincts)	13,261 (63.28%)	7,140 (34.07%)	556 (2.65%)
Ashe (17 of 17 precincts)	4,171 (35.41%)	7,224 (61.33%)	384 (3.26%)
Watauga and Ashe combined*	17,432 (53.25%)	14,364 (43.88%)	940 (2.87%)

*Combined totals are WataugaOnline’s sum of the two counties’ unofficial results. District 5 includes other counties.

District 11 (Avery)

Area	Jamie Ager (D)	Jennifer Balkcom (R)	Travis Groo (L)
Avery (10 of 19 precincts)	1,682 (34.40%)	3,110 (63.61%)	97 (1.98%)

Constitutional amendments

Voters statewide are deciding three amendments to the North Carolina Constitution. An amendment needs a majority of votes statewide to pass. All three are ahead statewide in the count so far (1,145 of 2,626 precincts reporting as of 9:10 p.m.). The High Country is split: Ashe and Avery voters are supporting all three by wide margins, while Watauga’s photo ID vote is nearly even, with 6 votes separating the sides.

Photo ID for voting: Would require all voters, including those voting by mail, to present photo identification before voting. State law already requires photo ID for in-person voting; this would write the requirement into the state constitution.
Maximum income tax rate of 3.5%: Would keep the state income tax rate from being raised higher than 3.5%. A state budget passed in July already lowers the rate from 3.99% to 3.49% from 2027 through 2029; the amendment would make a cap permanent.
Property tax levy limit: Would require limits on property tax increases by local governments. The amendment itself sets no specific limit; the legislature would set it later.

Amendment	Statewide	Watauga	Ashe	Avery
Photo ID	For 57.16% / Against 42.84%	Against 10,399 (50.01%) / For 10,393 (49.99%)	For 8,549 (73.19%) / Against 3,131 (26.81%)	For 3,759 (77.39%) / Against 1,098 (22.61%)
3.5% income tax cap	For 59.73% / Against 40.27%	For 10,846 (52.37%) / Against 9,864 (47.63%)	For 8,159 (70.24%) / Against 3,457 (29.76%)	For 3,702 (77.00%) / Against 1,106 (23.00%)
Property tax levy limit	For 58.29% / Against 41.71%	For 10,505 (50.84%) / Against 10,157 (49.16%)	For 7,684 (66.37%) / Against 3,894 (33.63%)	For 3,418 (71.13%) / Against 1,387 (28.87%)

Watauga County

21,126 ballots counted so far, 47.14% of 44,820 registered voters. Eighteen of 20 precincts have reported.

Race	Candidates	Precincts
Sheriff	Len Hagaman Jr. (D) 14,240 (68.69%); Darin Church (R) 6,492 (31.31%)	18 of 20
Clerk of Superior Court	Holly Fehl (D) 12,441 (59.90%); Charles Haynes (R) 8,328 (40.10%)	18 of 20
Board of Commissioners, District 1	Adam Hege (D) 2,469 (90.61%); Rick Woods (R) 256 (9.39%)	4 of 4
Board of Commissioners, District 2	Ray Russell (D) 2,891 (75.74%); Savva Kostis (R) 926 (24.26%)	3 of 3
Board of Education, District 1	Ellen Lamont 1,414 (62.87%); Yolanda Adams 812 (36.10%)	4 of 4
Board of Education, District 4	Chad Cole 2,461 (57.63%); Megan Kornhauser 1,774 (41.55%)	5 of 6

Ashe County

11,895 ballots counted, 56.98% of 20,874 registered voters. All 17 precincts have reported.

Race	Candidates
Sheriff	B. Phil Howell (R) 8,737 (unopposed)
Clerk of Superior Court	Sherman Lee (R) 8,875 (unopposed)
Register of Deeds	Beth Brooke (R) 8,699 (unopposed)
Board of Commissioners (vote for 3)	Mike Eldreth (R) 7,502; Todd McNeill (R) 7,477; Jerry Powers (R) 6,823; Leslie Colvard (D) 4,318; Caroline Renfro (D) 4,073
Board of Education (vote for 3)	Dianne Eldreth (R) 7,981; Shane Little (R) 7,184; Janet Ward (R) 7,160; Jamie McNeill (D) 4,519
New River Soil and Water Conservation District (vote for 2)	Ryan Huffman 7,883 (53.49%); Terry Munday 6,628 (44.98%)

Avery County

4,948 ballots counted so far, 39.63% of 12,484 registered voters. Ten of 19 precincts have reported.

Race	Candidates
Sheriff	Mike Henley (R) 3,897 (unopposed)
Clerk of Superior Court	Teresa Benfield (R) 3,249 (68.70%); Susannah Dibble (U) 1,480 (31.30%)
Board of Commissioners (vote for 3)	Robert Burleson (R) 3,148; Dennis Aldridge (R) 2,922; Jason Grindstaff (R) 2,821

Earlier updates

9:05 p.m. U.S. Senate: statewide, 822 of 2,626 precincts, Cooper 61.22%, Whatley 36.92%. Watauga (18 of 20 precincts): Cooper 63.41%, Whatley 34.10%. Ashe had not reported.

8:55 p.m. U.S. Senate: statewide, 620 of 2,626 precincts, Cooper 62.21%, Whatley 35.98%. Avery (10 of 19 precincts): Whatley 62.95%, Cooper 34.79%. Watauga (1 of 20 precincts): Cooper 68.61%, Whatley 29.27%.

8:40 p.m. U.S. Senate: statewide, 343 of 2,626 precincts, Cooper 64.05%, Whatley 34.23%. Avery (early vote only): Whatley 54.70%, Cooper 43.30%.

8:35 p.m. U.S. Senate: statewide, 196 of 2,626 precincts, Cooper 65.16%, Whatley 33.16%. Watauga (1 of 20 precincts): Cooper 68.61%, Whatley 29.27%. Watauga sheriff: Hagaman 72.87%, Church 27.13%.

8:20 p.m. (early vote only) U.S. Senate: statewide, 66 of 2,626 precincts, Cooper 66.80%, Whatley 31.56%. Watauga: Cooper 68.93%, Whatley 28.93%. Avery: Whatley 54.70%, Cooper 43.30%. Watauga sheriff: Hagaman 73.25%, Church 26.75%.

Results are unofficial until certified by county boards of elections.