North Carolina Heads Into Election Day, Republican Ted Budd Maintains Lead

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Election Day has finally arrived in North Carolina, where the battle for a vacant Senate seat could help decide which of the two main political parties controls the upper chamber.
Most polls have three-term Republican Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) coming into the final showdown with a steady lead over his Democrat opponent, former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley. North Carolina hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since 2008.
More than 2 million North Carolina voters had already taken advantage of the early voting opportunity to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day. They account for about 29 percent of the state’s 7.4 million registered voters, the North Carolina State Board of Elections said….}