2024 Election Day: Trump projected to win NC, nears threshold to recapture White House

There's optimism in the air at Janet Cowell's watch party,

She and her supporters believe she will be the next mayor of Raleigh.

Cowell would be Raleigh's 63rd mayor. She received 61% of Raleigh's early votes (more than 105,000 votes for her) well ahead of Paul Fitts, her closest challenger, who has gotten about 31,200 votes or 18%.

Cowell is a former State Treasurer and said she hopes to ease the tensions on city council and bring energy back to downtown.

As election results continue to pour in, Congresswoman Deborah Ross released the following statement on her reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives serving North Carolina's Second Congressional District.

"I am honored that the voters of Wake County have once again put their faith in me to represent them in Washington. It is a profound privilege to continue serving you, and I pledge to keep fighting on behalf of the people of Wake County in Congress. "We are still awaiting the results of critical races in North Carolina and across the country. But regardless of the outcome, I will continue putting people and country over party and politics. As I have done since first being elected four years ago, I will fight for progress and opportunity and work with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to deliver real results for Wake County.

ABC News has projected Attorney General Josh Stein to be the next governor of North Carolina.

Stein will follow fellow Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper to the Executive Mansion. Cooper also rose from attorney general to governor.

The win makes Stein, 58, the first Jewish governor of the Tar Heel State. He defeated his Republican challenger Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who was hoping to become the state's first Black governor.

Polls consistently showed Stein with a double-digit lead on his less-well-funded opponent.

Read more here.

With polls closed across the Tar Heel state, election results are now beginning to tabulate.

You can search for the races you want to follow at this link, or you can watch our results livestream below.

ABC election coverage is also streaming in the video player at the top of this article and everywhere you watch ABC11.

A new law for this election made it so in-person early voting ballots could not be counted until polls closed Tuesday. Mail-in ballots that were received before Tuesday could be counted and are likely the first results entered into the state database.