(The Center Square) – Challengers are plentiful for the 2026 midterm election cycle in North Carolina, from primaries in both major parties chasing a U.S. Senate seat through the election races for the state Supreme Court and well over two dozen wanting a spot in the Beltway.
The race to succeed U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is already expected to be the most costly in the chamber’s history. He decided not to seek a third term. Polling so far has only included former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of Raleigh and Republican Michael Whatley of Gastonia.
Following Friday’s filings, Daryl Farrow of Jacksonville is challenging Cooper on the Democrats’ ticket. Republicans in a primary with Whatley include Waxhaw’s Don Brown and Smithfield’s Elizabeth Temple.
The two North Carolina seats are occupied by Republicans and the chamber has 53. Democrats have 45 seats and two independents caucus with the minority party, with one of those on the most recent hot-button issue of the government shutdown siding with the Grand Old Party.
Republican Sarah Stevens of Mount Airy will challenge incumbent Democrat Anita Earls of Durham for Seat 1 on the North Carolina Supreme Court. The seven-member bench has five Republicans.
The 14 U.S. House of Representatives seats through Friday had seven incumbents and 23 challengers. The incumbents already filed for reelection include Republican Reps. Chuck Edwards of Flat Rock in the 11th Congressional District, Pat Harrigan of Hickory in the 10th, Richard Hudson of Southern Pines in the 9th, Rev. Mark Harris of Indian Trail in the 8th, and Dr. Greg Murphy in the 3rd; and Democratic Reps. Valerie Foushee in the 4th and Deborah Ross in the 2nd.
The chamber has 220 Republicans, 213 Democrats and two vacancies. From North Carolina, 10 are Republicans, four are Democrats.
Democratic challengers for the 14th Congressional District seat are Lakesha Womack and Brent Caldwell, each from Charlotte.
Democratic challengers for the 13th Congressional District seat are Paul Barringer of Sanford and Nicholi Alexander of Raleigh.
Republican challenger for the 11th Congressional District seat is Adam Smith of Black Mountain. Democratic challengers are Jamie Ager of Fairview and Paul Maddox of Burnsville.
Republican challenger for the 10th Congressional District seat is Matthew Sin of Winston-Salem. Democratic challengers are Harry Morley of Winston-Salem, Ashley Bell of Winston-Salem and West Caudle of Mooresville.
Democratic challenger in the 9th Congressional District is Nigel Bristow of Hamlet.
Democratic challengers in the 8th Congressional District are Kevin Clark of Rockingham and Colby Watson of Monroe.
Democratic challenger in the 7th Congressional District is Kimberly Hardy of Linden.
Democratic challengers in the 6th Congressional District are Cyril Jefferson of High Point and Keith Davenport of Lexington.
Republican challenger in the 5th Congressional District is Steve Girard of Jefferson. Democratic challenger is Chuck Hubbard of Wilkesboro.
Republican challenger in the 4th Congressional District is Max Ganorkar of Pittsboro.
Republican challengers in the 1st Congressional District are Bobby Hanig of Powells Point, Eric Rouse of Kinston and Asa Buck of Beaufort. Hanig is a state senator for District 1.
North Carolinians this year will choose a U.S. senator, all 14 U.S. House representatives, one state Supreme Court judge and three appellate justices. All 170 seats in the General Assembly – 50 in the Senate, 120 in the House of Representatives – are also on the ballot. There are no statewide referenda.
Only presidential cycle years have longer ballots for the more than 7.6 million voters in the nation’s ninth largest state.
