The 2022 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

to represent the

State of North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Republican congressman

Ted Budd Theodore Paul Budd (born October 21, 1971) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator for North Carolina since 2023. A member of the Republica ...

won his first term in office, defeating Democratic nominee

Cheri Beasley Cheri Lynn Beasley (born February 14, 1966) is an American attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2019 to 2020 as well as an associate justice from 2012 to 2019. She was defeated by Paul Mar ...

. Primary elections were scheduled for March 8, 2022, but were delayed by the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

and rescheduled for May 17. Incumbent three-term Republican U.S. senator

Richard Burr Richard Mauze Burr (born November 30, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from North Carolina from 2005 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Burr was previously a member of the United Stat ...

announced in 2016 that he would not seek reelection in 2022. Former chief justice of the

and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

won the Democratic and Republican

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

, respectively. The race was considered competitive, with Budd narrowly leading in polls. Budd ultimately won with 50.5% of the vote to Beasley's 47.3%—a margin of 3.2%. Despite Budd's win in the election, it marked the Class III seat's worst performance by a Republican since

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Republican primary

With Burr's retirement, this primary was expected to be very competitive. Former U.S. Representative Mark Walker was the first major candidate to announce his candidacy, on December 1, 2020. Walker opted to retire from the House and not run for reelection in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

because his district was made much more favorable to the Democratic Party after redistricting. Former president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's daughter-in-law Lara Trump was widely speculated as a possible candidate for this seat. She received encouragement and support from U.S. Senator

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...

and Kellyanne Conway, a former Trump White House official. Early opinion polls suggested she would perform well against other prospective candidates in the primary. On April 14, 2021, former governor

Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd mayor of Charlotte ...

announced his candidacy. U.S. Representative Ted Budd announced his candidacy on April 28, 2021. Opinion polls taken during April 2021 showed McCrory with a wide lead over Walker and Budd. McCrory was aided by a high degree of name recognition because of his several statewide campaigns. On June 5, 2021, the

North Carolina Republican Party The North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in North Carolina. Michael Whatley was the chair from 2019 until his election as national chair in March 2024. It is currentl ...

held a convention in Greenville. At the convention, former president Trump announced that he was endorsing Budd for the U.S. Senate seat. Lara Trump announced that she would not be running, and joined her father-in-law in endorsing Budd. The former president also took a shot at McCrory, saying, "You can't pick people that have already lost two races, that do not stand for our values." McCrory lost both the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

gubernatorial elections. Budd was reportedly unaware of Trump's intentions until 15 minutes before he took the stage. Both Walker and McCrory stated their intentions to stay in the race. Meanwhile, North Carolina redrew its congressional maps, making Walker's house seat more favorable to Republicans than it had been before 2020. After that, Trump met with Walker and promised to endorse him if he left the Senate race to instead run for his old House seat, newly numbered as the 7th district. Walker filed to switch races, but later decided against it in favor of staying in the Senate race. The first primary debate was held on February 26 in Raleigh. It was sponsored by the John Locke Foundation, a

conservative think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

based in North Carolina. McCrory, Walker and Eastman participated. Budd was invited, but did not attend, leaving an empty podium. The first televised debate was held by

WRAL-TV WRAL-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle area. It is the flagship station of the locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company, which has ...

on April 14 and featured McCrory and Walker, with Budd once again declining to attend. A third debate was held on April 20 on Spectrum News 1. McCrory, Walker, and Eastman participated. A fourth debate, sponsored by

Nexstar Media Group Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television station ...

, was held on April 26 and aired on television stations across North Carolina, including WJZY,

WNCN WNCN (channel 17) is a television station licensed to Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States, serving the Research Triangle area as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios on Front Street in north R ...

WGHP WGHP (channel 8) is a television station licensed to High Point, North Carolina, United States, serving the Piedmont Triad region as an affiliate of the Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios on Francis ...

, and WNCT-TV. McCrory and Walker participated. Budd declined and Eastman was not invited. Budd won the primary overwhelmingly with over 58% of the vote. McCrory finished second with almost 25%, and Walker third with 9%. Budd won a plurality in every county in the state except for

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

, which McCrory won by under 100 votes. After the results were released, McCrory declared his political career over. He did not endorse Budd for the general election.

Candidates

Nominee

, U.S. Representative for NC-13 (2017–2023)

Eliminated in primary

*Jen Banwart, Department of Defense employee (2001–2020), and legislative staffer on Capitol Hill (1994–1996) *Lee Brian, videographer and withdrawn candidate for NC-04 in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

*Leonard Bryant, Senior Religious Affairs Advisor for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

*Drew Bulecza, businessman * Marjorie Eastman, author and veteran *David Flaherty, former state representative *Benjamin Griffiths *Kenneth Harper, business owner *

, former

governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

(2013–2017), former mayor of Charlotte (1995–2009) *Charles Kenneth Moss, radio evangelist and former member of the Randolph County Soil & Water Board *Lichia Sibhatu, daycare owner *Debora Tshiovo * Mark Walker, former U.S. Representative for NC-06 (2015–2021)

Withdrawn

*Marty Cooke, Brunswick County Commissioner (since 2008)

Declined

, incumbent U.S. Senator (''endorsed Pat McCrory'') * Dan Forest, former lieutenant governor of North Carolina (2013–2021) and nominee for

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Virginia Foxx Virginia Ann Foxx ( Palmieri;Foxx, Virginia Ann
. ''Biographical Directory of ...

, U.S. Representative for NC-5 (2005–present) *

Mark Meadows Mark Randall Meadows (born July 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 29th White House chief of staff from 2020 to 2021 under the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the U.S. representat ...

, former

White House chief of staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...

, former U.S. Representative for NC-11 and former chairman of the Freedom Caucus (2013–2020) (''endorsed Ted Budd'') * Tim Moore,

Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives The speaker of the North Carolina North Carolina House of Representatives, House of Representatives is the presiding officer of one of the houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The speaker is elected by the members of the house when the ...

(2015–present) (''running for reelection'') * Mark Robinson, lieutenant governor of North Carolina (2021–present) * Lara Trump, television producer, senior advisor to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, and daughter-in-law of former

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

(''endorsed Ted Budd'') * Michael Whatley, chair of the

Endorsements

Polling

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls

Debates

Results

Democratic primary

After losing the 2020 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Erica Smith teased a campaign for the other Senate seat in 2022. She officially launched her campaign in March 2021. Jeff Jackson, who has represented the 37th district in the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

since 2014, was widely speculated as a potential candidate for Senate in 2020, but he decided to run for reelection to the State Senate instead. In fall 2020, Jackson said he would discuss a potential 2022 campaign with his family over the holiday season. In January 2021, Jackson officially launched his campaign, and began a tour of the state, holding town hall events in all 100 counties. Cheri Beasley narrowly lost her election to a full term as Chief Justice in 2020. In February 2021, it was reported that she had hired a campaign consultant and was preparing to enter the U.S. Senate race. Beasley officially launched her campaign on April 27. In November 2021, Smith filed papers to run for

North Carolina's 1st congressional district North Carolina's 1st congressional district is located in the northeastern part of the state. It consists of many Black Belt in the American South, Black Belt counties that border Virginia and it extends southward into several counties of the In ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

after Representative G. K. Butterfield announced he would not seek reelection. On November 23, Smith officially launched her House campaign and ended her Senate campaign. She endorsed Beasley on November 30. On December 16, 2021, Jackson withdrew from the race and endorsed Beasley, making Beasley the presumptive nominee. Beasley easily won the nomination with over 81% of the vote.

Candidates

Nominee

, former justice of the

(2012–2020); Chief Justice 2019–2020)

Eliminated in primary

*Greg Antoine, physician *Chrelle Booker, Tryon city councillor (2019–present) *James L. Carr Jr. *Robert Colon *Alyssia Rose-Katherine Hammond * Constance Johnson, perennial candidate *Tobias LaGrone, business owner, pastor, and counselor *B. K. Maginnis * Rett Newton, former mayor of Beaufort (2017–2021) *Marcus Williams, attorney and perennial candidate

Withdrawn

* Jeff Jackson, state senator (2014–2023) and

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

North Carolina National Guard The North Carolina National Guard (NCNG), commonly known as the North Carolina guard, is the National Guard (United States), National Guard component of the state of North Carolina. It is composed of North Carolina Army National Guard and North C ...

('' running for NC-14'') ''(endorsed Beasley)'' * Erica D. Smith, former state senator ('' running for NC-01'') (''endorsed Beasley'') * Richard Watkins III, scientist and candidate for NC-04 in

('' running for NC-04'')

Declined

* Sydney Batch, state senator (2021–present) * Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (2017–present) *

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III ( ; born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 75th List of governors of North Carolina, governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

(2017–2025) * Anita Earls, associate justice of the

(2019–present) * Terence Everitt, state representative * Anthony Foxx, former

United States Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

(2013–2017) and former mayor of Charlotte (2009–2013) * Joan Higginbotham, electrical

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut *

Vi Lyles Viola Alexander Lyles (born September 28, 1952) is an American politician serving as the 59th mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Lyles was a member of the Charlotte ...

, Mayor of Charlotte (2017–present) ( running for re-election) * Grier Martin, state representative (2005–present) * Deborah K. Ross, U.S. Representative from NC-2 * Heath Shuler, former U.S. Representative for NC-11 (2007–2013)

Endorsements

Polling

Graphical summary

Results

Independents and third-party candidates

Libertarian Party

Declared

*Shannon W. Bray, author,

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

veteran, candidate for NC-03 in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and nominee for U.S. Senate in

Green Party

Declared

*Matthew Hoh, activist and veteran

Independents

Write-in candidates

*Michelle Lewis, activist

Failed to make general election ballot

*Kimrey Rhinehardt,

University of North Carolina Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a Public university, public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Caroli ...

faculty member, former lobbyist for the

University of North Carolina system A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, and former staffer for incumbent U.S. Senator

*Brenda Rodriguez, veteran

General election

Debates

Predictions

Post-primary endorsements

Fundraising

In the first quarter of 2022, Beasley raised $3.6 million. In the second quarter of 2022, Beasley reported raising $7.42 million, narrowly beating a second quarter record set by Cal Cunningham in 2020.

Polling

Aggregate polls
Graphical summary
Marjorie Eastman vs. Cheri Beasley
Pat McCrory vs. Cheri Beasley
Mark Walker vs. Cheri Beasley
Generic Republican vs. generic Democrat

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Anson (largest city: Wadesboro) * Pasquotank (largest city: Elizabeth City) *

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

(largest city: Laurinburg) * Wilson (largest city: Wilson)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* New Hanover (largest city: Wilmington) * Watauga (largest city: Boone)

By congressional district

Budd and Beasley each won seven of 14 congressional districts.https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::6e8268a4-3b9b-4140-8f99-e3544a2f0816

Notes

Partisan clients

References

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Graphical summary

Debates

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Graphical summary

Results

Independents and third-party candidates

Libertarian Party

Declared

Green Party

Declared

Independents

Write-in candidates

Failed to make general election ballot

General election

Debates

Predictions

Post-primary endorsements

Fundraising

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

See also

Notes

References

External links