After three days of early in-person voting in North Carolina, registered Republicans make up 20% of those who have cast ballots.
By comparison, Republicans made up 30% of voters at the same point in the 2022 midterms, which was a good year for the GOP. Republicans also accounted for 30% of voters at this point in the 2018 election, which ended in a blue wave for Democrats.
This year, the shares of registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters are up. So is the share of Black voters, who mostly vote Democratic.
Democrat Roy Cooper is favored to defeat Republican Michael Whatley in the U.S. Senate race. Democrats are hoping Cooper's victory is large enough to help them win down-ballot contests, including races for the state Supreme Court, Congress, state House and state Senate.
