North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley has conceded to Republican Paul Newby in their extremely close election after two rounds of recounts saw little change in the vote margin between them. Beasley said she called Newby on Saturday to congratulate him. Newby had led Beasley by 401 votes from almost 5.4 million ballots cast after a statewide machine recount was completed last week. Beasley then requested a hand recount of ballots. Newby is the senior associate justice. Beasley became the first Black female chief justice in North Carolina when Gov. Roy Cooper appointed her last year.