State Senator Rachel Hunt (D-Mecklenburg) is leading the race to be North Carolina’s next lt. governor. (Photo: ncleg.net)
Democrat Rachel Hunt is leading Republican Hal Weatherman in the race to be North Carolina’s next lieutenant governor.
Though the state Board of Elections website indicates that all precincts have reported, and that Hunt leads 49.44% to 47.75% — a gap of more than 95,000 votes — the Associated Press has yet to project a winner in the race — presumably because some votes, such as provisional ballots, have yet to be tallied. Some news sites, including Decision Desk, have declared Hunt the winner.
If Hunt holds her lead, she will succeed outgoing Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
A Charlotte resident, Hunt has represented Mecklenburg County in the North Carolina Senate since 2023. Before that she served two terms in the North Carolina House, where she was first elected in 2018.
During her time at the state legislature, Hunt has supported bills expanding healthcare affordability, defending reproductive rights, and protecting the environment, among other issues.
Hunt is a political legacy in the Tar Heel state. She’s the daughter of former Gov. Jim Hunt, who holds the record as the longest-serving governor in North Carolina history over 16 non-consecutive years.
Her campaign website describes her as an attorney and a mom. Hunt graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of South Carolina School of Law.
While the office is not a constitutionally powerful position, the lieutenant governor serves as the presiding officer of the state Senate (a duty Robinson rarely chose to exercise) and casts tie-breaking votes in the event the chamber becomes deadlocked on legislation. Then Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue famously cast the deciding vote that created the state Education Lottery in 2005. The lieutenant governor also serves on multiple state government boards and ascends to the governorship in the event that office becomes vacant during their term in office.
Weatherman is a longtime conservative activist and nonprofit head who has served as a staff person for both former U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick and Myrick’s son, former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.
Election night results are unofficial and vote totals will likely change over the coming days as local boards of election consider provisional, military, and overseas civilian ballots. The state Board of Elections is scheduled to meet Nov. 26 to certify the results.