NC-12 House winner?

Early voting opens Oct. 15 and runs through Oct. 31 in North Carolina, a key battleground in the 2025 midterms. The marquee race is the open U.S. Senate seat left by retiring Republican Thom Tillis, pitting Democrat and former Gov. Roy Cooper against Republican Michael Whatley, the Trump-backed former RNC chair, with Green and Libertarian candidates also on the ballot. Democrats are targeting the seat as part of a broader push to flip the four seats needed for Senate control.

The ballot also includes competitive U.S. House races, including Charlotte-area districts held by Reps. Alma Adams, Tim Moore and Mark Harris, plus down-ballot contests for the N.C. Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, state legislature, and Mecklenburg County offices. Voters will also weigh in on constitutional amendments covering voter ID, income tax caps and property tax limits, along with Charlotte bond measures for transportation, housing and neighborhood improvements. Election Day is Nov. 3, with North Carolina's results seen as a bellwether for national party control in Washington.

Property records show Democratic candidate LaKesha Womack, who is challenging Republican Rep. Tim Moore in North Carolina's 14th Congressional District, purchased a home in neighboring District 12 this summer while her official voting address — located in District 14 — appears on Zillow as a rental listing. Womack initially agreed to discuss the matter but later canceled the interview and has not responded to further requests for comment.

The Constitution does not require House members to live in the districts they represent, only that they reside in the state, be at least 25 years old, and have held U.S. citizenship for seven years. Still, a WBTV review found two of North Carolina's 14 House members registered to vote outside their districts: Womack and Republican Rep. Brad Knott, whose Raleigh voting address falls in District 2 rather than his District 13. A third representative, Democrat Don Davis, was redrawn out of his old district in last year's redistricting and is now running in a seat reconfigured to favor Republicans.

President Trump, campaigning for Senate nominee Michael Whatley in North Carolina, described the state as one of the most violent in the country. Official data released the same day, and subsequent statewide figures, tell a different story: violent crime fell 5.8% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, with murders down 12.4%, robberies down 17.7%, and motor vehicle thefts down 22.6%. Property crime overall fell nearly 12%. Charlotte saw violent crime drop 8%, though homicides ticked up slightly. The decline predates Trump's presidency, complicating his rally claims even as the White House credits his policies.

Not all categories improved: intimidation, stalking, and kidnapping reports rose, with women disproportionately affected and most cases involving intimate partners or acquaintances. Trump also cited the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska, falsely claiming Democratic nominee Roy Cooper released the suspect from prison. Overall, North Carolina's violent crime rate ranks in the middle nationally, undercutting characterizations of the state as uniquely dangerous ahead of a closely watched Senate race.

The Justice Department announced indictments against 18 people in North Carolina for allegedly voting illegally in the 2024 election, bringing the state's total to 30 cases tied to that election cycle. Federal grand juries in Charlotte and Greensboro returned charges spanning all three of the state's federal districts, with defendants including lawful permanent residents from countries such as Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, France, Cuba, and Argentina accused of falsely claiming citizenship to register or vote. One defendant allegedly cast ballots dating back to 2000. The indictments arrive as the Trump administration intensifies voter fraud investigations ahead of the midterms, with charges carrying penalties up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) is under pressure to decide the fate of the long-debated I-77 South toll lane expansion, a project in development since 2014. A provision in North Carolina's recently passed state budget gives municipalities only until early October to reaffirm support or repay their share of roughly $60 million already spent by NCDOT on planning and engineering. Board members say they need closer to nine months to a year for proper evaluation.

The financial penalty has already prompted Monroe, Statesville, and Cornelius to reverse earlier opposition and back the project, with Cornelius facing a potential $3 million to $3.5 million hit otherwise. Matthews remains opposed, with its mayor calling the state's ultimatum "unconscionable" given unanimous local opposition. State officials have floated raising planned investment in affected communities to $300 million to address trust concerns, while some residents argue money should instead go toward transit alternatives.

Gas prices in Charlotte and across North Carolina are starting to drop after Governor Josh Stein signed a bill suspending the state's gas tax, cutting 41 cents per gallon from gas and diesel prices. The move responds to fuel price spikes tied to tensions following a U.S. attack on Iran, as officials cited the rising cost of living for North Carolinians.

The suspension runs through November 30 and could cost the state more than $350 million in revenue that would otherwise fund NCDOT road projects. Economists caution it may take up to two weeks for drivers to see the full effect at the pump, and savings may only amount to a few dollars a week for the average driver since gas stations aren't required to lower prices on fuel they've already paid taxes on. The N.C. Department of Revenue will audit tax filings but will not enforce pump prices. State lawmakers, including House Speaker Destin Hall, praised the measure as relief for drivers amid elevated fuel costs.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina is pursuing denaturalization and fraud cases against four men, citing false statements made during naturalization proceedings. A federal grand jury indicted Sha Bahadur Ghaley, a Bhutanese-born naturalized citizen, on naturalization fraud charges after he allegedly lied about prior criminal conduct on his 2017 application; he was later convicted in 2024 of sexually abusing a child and sentenced to prison and lifetime sex-offender registration. He faces up to 10 additional years if convicted of fraud.

Separately, between June and August, prosecutors filed civil denaturalization complaints against three men — Benjamin Hernandez (also known as Luis Elder Alvarado), Han Xiong Chen, and Kevin Yun-Sang Kim — alleging each concealed prior deportations, false identities, or immigration violations to obtain citizenship. Officials say the cases stem partly from a new fingerprint-comparison method used to detect identity fraud in past naturalization applications. U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said such fraud takes citizenship opportunities from eligible applicants and pledged continued enforcement.

Democratic congressional candidate Will Lawrence pushed back after President Donald Trump criticized him during a Sept. 9 address at the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas, accusing him of hating families and the American way of life. Trump did not name Lawrence directly, but the remarks referenced since-deleted 2021-2022 social media posts in which Lawrence criticized the "hetero-patriarchal nuclear family" as a vehicle for wealth accumulation and praised communal living arrangements. The National Republican Congressional Committee linked the comments to Lawrence.

At a Lansing campaign event the following day, Lawrence said his past comments referred to housing affordability and accused Trump and his opponent, U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, of harming families through immigration enforcement, health care cuts, and rising costs tied to conflict in Iran. Lawrence, who let his Democratic Socialists of America membership lapse in July, is challenging Barrett in Michigan's competitive 7th Congressional District, a seat Democrats are targeting to help flip the House.