A Guide To Key Down-Ballot North Carolina Races

Democrats flipped two open U.S. House seats that they had been favored to win in North Carolina on Tuesday while Republicans defended two seats that had turned into competitive races, leaving the state’s congressional delegation with an 8-5 split in favor of the GOP.  The congressional races were among key down-ballot races that also included contests that were determining the power balance in the state’s legislature and the makeup of a group of key statewide offices. The key presidential battleground also has a hotly contested U.S. Senate race and a closely watched governor’s race. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was reelected, defeating Republican challenger Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.