A closely-divided race between Republican incumbent North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham has hit a standstill in vote counting on Wednesday afternoon. There are as many as 117K votes still being processed by the state due to mail-in balloting and provisional numbers.
Tillis claimed victory over Cunningham on Tuesday night. This came despite the race not being called or Cunningham conceding.
Tillis, a first-term senator, holds a slight lead over Cunningham with a little over 96,000 votes from among more than 5.4 million votes counted through Wednesday (10/4) at Noon, according to unofficial AP news results.
“What we accomplished tonight was a stunning victory and we did it against all the odds,” Tillis told a crowd of supporters in Huntersville on Tuesday night. Cunningham was not available for comment and hasn't provided any statement.
The current total for majority control in the U.S. Senate shows Republicans with a 47-45 advantage over the Democrats with votes still being counted in five races.