Former state supreme court justice Cheri Beasley (D), U.S. Rep Ted Budd (R), and seven others are running in the general election on Nov. 8, 2022, to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate.
Incumbent Sen. Richard Burr (R)—who first took office in 2005—is not seeking re-election, making this an open seat race. In 2020, when the state last held an election for U.S. Senate, incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis (R) defeated Cal Cunningham (D), 49% to 47%. In 2016, Burr defeated Deborah Ross (D), 51% to 45%.
The two most recent presidential elections in North Carolina were decided by less than 4 percentage points. In the 2020 election, incumbent President Donald Trump (R) defeated Joe Biden (D), 49.9% to 48.6%. In the 2016 election, Trump carried North Carolina with 49.8% of the vote to Hillary Clinton’s (D) 46.2%. At the start of the 2022 election cycle, Inside Elections rated this state Battleground Republican.
