WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Ted Budd defeated Democrat Cheri Beasley in North Carolina’s competitive Senate race Tuesday, NBC News projects, letting Republicans retain a seat that will be vacated by retiring Sen. Richard Burr.
The race flew largely under the radar, with more colorful candidates in other states capturing headlines, even as polls showed the contest neck-and-neck. Both parties spent heavily in the race, though North Carolina Democrats accused the national party of abandoning Beasley in a tight election.
Helped along by an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who called Budd “rock-solid” at a September rally in Wilmington, Budd remained favored going into Election Day. He had previously defeated former Gov. Pat McCrory in a contentious Republican primary.
Budd, who owns a gun store and served three terms in Congress, is a staunch conservative. Beasley labeled him an “election denier” for voting against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential contest Trump lost, but his style and rhetoric are relatively low-key compared to some higher-profile GOP Senate candidates.
Beasley, the former chief justice of the state Supreme Court, would have been the first Black senator from North Carolina. Her allies used media interviews to publicly plead for more support, as national Democrats did not focus on her campaign as much as other Senate hopefuls.
Past contests have made national Democrats wary of North Carolina, however. Considered a purple state, it has disappointed the party since former President Barack Obama first gave them hope of turning it blue when he won it in 2008.
Since then, Democratic presidential and Senate candidates have all failed to win the state even after pouring millions into it, though it has twice elected Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
North Carolina’s 2020 Senate race was the most expensive in history at the time, but Democratic candidate Cal Cunningham lost — and nearly cost his party the Senate majority — after it was revealed he had had an extramarital affair.
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Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
