Cal Cunningham
FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2021 file photo, Sen. Mike Woodard, D-Durham, speaks with Sen. Ben Clark, D-Hoke, right, and Sen. Jeff Jackson, D-Mecklenburg in the Senate chamber during the opening session of the North Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh, N.C. Jackson has announced he’s running for the U.S. Senate in 2022. Jackson unveiled his bid on Tuesday, Jan, 26, 2021. He's the second Democrat to enter the race to succeed Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who isn’t seeking reelection.(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
N. Carolina state Sen. Jeff Jackson enters US Senate race

By Gary D. Robertson Jan. 26, 2021 11:21 AM EST

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2020 file photo, Sen. Tom Tillis, R-N.C. holds a sign as President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Fayetteville Regional Airport in Fayetteville, N.C. North Carolina Democrats were hoping this November they would break the backs of Republicans, who, after dominating state politics for much of the past decade, saw their power erode in the 2016 and 2018 elections. Instead, state Democrats had little to tout after Election Day beyond Gov. Roy Cooper’s close yet expected reelection, a narrow victory for Attorney General Josh Stein, and picking up two U.S. House seats largely handed to them by redistricting in 2019. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
North Carolina certifies November general election results

By Bryan Anderson Nov. 24, 2020 01:01 PM EST

FILE - President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Fayetteville Regional Airport, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, in Fayetteville, N.C. North Carolina Democrats were hoping this November they would break the backs of Republicans, who, after dominating state politics for much of the past decade, saw their power erode in the 2016 and 2018 elections. Instead, state Democrats had little to tout after Election Day beyond Gov. Roy Cooper’s close yet expected reelection, a narrow victory for Attorney General Josh Stein, and picking up two U.S. House seats largely handed to them by redistricting in 2019. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, FILE)
Trump turnout helps N. Carolina GOP block Democratic advance

By Gary D. Robertson And Bryan Anderson Nov. 21, 2020 08:21 AM EST

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., celebrates at a election night rally Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Mooresville, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
North Carolina Sen. Tillis reelected, keeps seat for GOP

By Gary D. Robertson Nov. 11, 2020 05:07 PM EST

President-elect Joe Biden and Jill Biden, attend a service at the Philadelphia Korean War Memorial at Penn’s Landing on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Latest: Trump backs McDaniel for another RNC chair term

Nov. 11, 2020 05:07 PM EST

FILE - Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham, left, and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. greet each other after a televised debate Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool)
Cunningham concedes to US Sen. Tillis in North Carolina

By Gary D. Robertson Nov. 10, 2020 05:35 PM EST

New York Senator Chuck Schumer speaks at a news conference outside an early voting site in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. New Yorkers lined up to vote early for a fourth consecutive day Tuesday after a weekend that saw a crush of more than 400,000 voters statewide. The unofficial tally shows about 194,000 voters this weekend in New York City, where some people waited an hour or more in lines that stretched for several blocks. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Fight for Senate control awaits in Georgia after Biden's win

By Lisa Mascaro Nov. 08, 2020 12:44 AM EST

New York Senator Chuck Schumer speaks at a news conference outside an early voting site in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. New Yorkers lined up to vote early for a fourth consecutive day Tuesday after a weekend that saw a crush of more than 400,000 voters statewide. The unofficial tally shows about 194,000 voters this weekend in New York City, where some people waited an hour or more in lines that stretched for several blocks. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Fight for Senate control awaits in Georgia after Biden's win

By Lisa Mascaro Nov. 07, 2020 06:13 PM EST

Republican Senate candidate Sen. Mitch McConnell, second from right, and his wife, Elaine Chao, right, look on as aides show him the election results in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Democrats' Senate drive halted by GOP; key races undecided

By Lisa Mascaro And Mary Clare Jalonick Nov. 05, 2020 12:28 AM EST

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., arrives to talk to reporters about Election Day results in races for the House of Representatives, at Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)
Election splits Congress, GOP bolstered as Democrats falter

By Lisa Mascaro Nov. 05, 2020 12:26 AM EST

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., arrives to talk to reporters about Election Day results in races for the House of Representatives, at Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)
Election splits Congress, GOP bolstered as Democrats falter

By Lisa Mascaro Nov. 04, 2020 05:40 PM EST

Democratic Senate candidate Jamie Harrison thanks his supporters at an election watch party in Columbia, S.C., after losing the Senate race to incumbent Lindsey Graham, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (Jeff Blake/The State via AP)
Democrats' Senate drive halted by GOP; key races undecided

By Lisa Mascaro And Mary Clare Jalonick Nov. 04, 2020 12:41 PM EST

Tanya Bryant, 42, a case manager for an information technology company, voted on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The registered Democrat said the coronavirus pandemic is a big issue on her mind and contributed to her voting for Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Gary Robertson)
AP VoteCast: North Carolina voters sour on state of nation

By Steven Wine Nov. 04, 2020 11:57 AM EST

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., celebrates with his wife Susan, at a election night rally Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Mooresville, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Tillis-Cunningham US Senate race too early to call

By Gary D. Robertson Nov. 04, 2020 02:18 AM EST

Tanya Bryant, 42, a case manager for an information technology company, voted on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The registered Democrat said the coronavirus pandemic is a big issue on her mind and contributed to her voting for Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Gary Robertson)
AP VoteCast: North Carolina voters sour on state of nation

By Steven Wine Nov. 03, 2020 05:54 PM EST

AP VoteCast: North Carolina voters sour on state of nation

Nov. 03, 2020 05:01 PM EST
Voters in North Carolina made their pick for president while holding negative views about the country's direction, according to an expansive AP survey of the...

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roger Marshall celebrates his win, at an election watch party in Topeka, Kan., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
Democrats losing paths to Senate control as GOP hangs on

By Lisa Mascaro And Mary Clare Jalonick Nov. 03, 2020 05:31 AM EST

FILE - In this June 9, 2020, file photo Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, speaks to reporters following the weekly Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., center, and Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., right, listen. Republican senators are fighting to save their majority against an onslaught of challengers in states once off limits to Democrats that are now hotbeds of the backlash to President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
GOP tries to save its Senate majority, with or without Trump

By Lisa Mascaro Nov. 01, 2020 07:58 AM EST

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., listen during a Senate Judiciary Committee Executive Business meeting, including the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to serve as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Hannah Mckay/Pool via AP)
Cunningham keeps low in NC Senate race marked by his affair

By Gary D. Robertson Oct. 24, 2020 10:30 AM EDT

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Ky. walks towards the Senate floor on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
McConnell tries to salvage Senate majority with court vote

By Lisa Mascaro Oct. 09, 2020 04:52 PM EDT