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

(Left) Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Cheri Beasley speaks at a canvassing event in Greensboro, N.C., on Nov. 7, 2022. (Right) Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ted Budd speaks at the NCGOP state convention in Greenville, N.C., on June 5, 2021. Sean Rayford/Getty Images; Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

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.