With a substantial lead over Republican candidate Dan Forest, Governor Roy Cooper won the governor’s race Tuesday night and is set to serve his second four-year term in North Carolina.

With about 72 percent of ballots counted, Cooper held a 52 to 46 percent lead over Forest, the current lieutenant governor, according to Politico results.

As of 10 p.m., with 92 percent of the state reporting, both the Associated Press and NBC News proclaim Cooper the winner of North Carolina’s governor’s race.

During his re-election campaign, Cooper took in more than $17 million dollars between July 1 and October 17, according to the latest quarterly filing due this week at the State Board of Elections. Cooper’s total is much higher than the nearly $4 million raised during that time by Forest.

Cooper’s seat was one of Democrats’ highest-priority governor’s offices to defend this cycle, but the result wasn’t particularly surprising. Although North Carolina is a battleground state and had tilted Republican in the last few election cycles, most polls showed Cooper in the lead this election.

Cooper’s top priorities for his second term include expanding access to Medicaid and raising wages for public school teachers, as well as continuing to address the Covid-19 crisis. While many North Carolinian’s have shown strong support for Cooper’s handling of the crisis, some, including Forest, have pushed back through attempted legislation and lawsuits.

Cooper had banked on the support of voters who approved of his handling of the coronavirus, while Forest had aimed to appeal to business owners and K-12 public school parents dissatisfied with the state’s slow reopening.

Born and raised in Nash County, Cooper attended public schools and worked summers on the family farm before attending UNC on a Morehead Scholarship. After earning a law degree from UNC, Cooper returned home to Nash County to practice law and, with his wife Kristin, raise three daughters.

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