U.S. Senate
Statewide: Roy Cooper wins. Called.
Electoral MeridianIndependent Election Research
Forecasts. Results. Evidence.
2026 election results. Michael Whatley (R) got 66% of the U.S. Senate vote in Avery County. The margin is 17.8 points more Democratic than the 2024 presidential vote here. Below are also 4 local contests from the state's own results.
Statewide: Roy Cooper wins. Called.
Whole district: Jamie Ager wins. Called.
The leader in Avery County is only who has the most votes counted here. Races are won statewide or district-wide, and only the race pages report calls. Last vote update here Nov 10, 1:51 PM.
County offices and districts on Avery County's ballots, from North Carolina's official results file. Names are as the state prints them. "Ahead" describes the current count; it isn't a race call, and we don't call measures.
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Burleson R | 4,404 | 35.5% |
| Dennis Aldridge R | 3,999 | 32.3% |
| Jason Grindstaff R | 3,993 | 32.2% |
Robert Burleson, Dennis Aldridge and Jason Grindstaff are unopposed.
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Teresa I. Benfield R | 4,575 | 69.7% |
| Susannah McCoury Dibble | 1,985 | 30.3% |
Teresa I. Benfield ahead in Avery County.
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Henley R | 5,484 | 100.0% |
Mike Henley is unopposed.
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Beuttell | 4,074 | 49.5% |
| Brad Smith | 4,052 | 49.2% |
| Write-In | 106 | 1.3% |
Bill Beuttell and Brad Smith are unopposed.
North Carolina's official results, file posted Nov 13, 5:05 PM. Unofficial until certified.
Margins compare the Democrat and the Republican only. The 2024 column is the presidential margin in the same places as each race's votes here. Shift is this year's margin minus it, shown once at least 90% of the expected vote is counted. A dash means there's no 2024 figure for those exact places.
| Year | Democrat | Share | Republican | Share | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kamala Harris | 23.4% | Donald Trump | 75.7% | R +52.3 |
| 2020 | Joe Biden | 23.2% | Donald Trump | 75.8% | R +52.7 |
| 2016 | Hillary Clinton | 20.5% | Donald Trump | 76.3% | R +55.9 |
| 2012 | Barack Obama | 24.3% | Mitt Romney | 74.3% | R +50.1 |
| 2008 | Barack Obama | 27.4% | John McCain | 71.5% | R +44.1 |
| 2004 | John Kerry | 24.0% | George W. Bush | 75.5% | R +51.5 |
| 2000 | Al Gore | 25.2% | George W. Bush | 74.0% | R +48.8 |
Shares are of all presidential votes, and the margin is the Democrat's share minus the Republican's. Since 2000, the presidential margin here has moved R +3.4.
Votes for 2026 come from the count this site reads, by county. They're unofficial until North Carolina certifies them. Past presidential votes are from MEDSL and VEST, via Polling Forecast. North Carolina's own results, deadlines and offices are on the state page.