Breaking news and results as voters head to the polls to vote for Trump or Kamala Harris

On By Littum

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, predicted there would be no delay in the state’s results.

“I think we’ll get them pretty early. But the thing is, this is going to be a razor’s edge race. It always is in North Carolina,” he said on MSNBC. “Donald Trump or JD Vance has been here almost every day, it seems, over the last few weeks, because they’re worried.”

Early voting returns were high, Cooper said, adding that people also showed up today.

“There’s a lot of excitement here in North Carolina because we know we can turn the tide of this race,” he said.

Something that stood out to him is that among early voters, 55.5% of voters were women, he said.

“It’s a record,” he said. And he believes a greater number of women had voted, signaling that the state’s suburban vote had increased significantly.

He added, “We have a lot more college-educated people. Our newer, bigger counties are even bigger. So we feel very positive that North Carolina can have a key here. When you consider that Hurricane Helene has hit during the the last month.”

Cooper also made it clear that he wanted Harris to be elected.

“I will tell you, I want a president who wakes up every morning thinking about the American people, rather than a president who wakes up every morning thinking about himself,” he said.

Cooper said North Carolina had made great strides since the state was hit by Helene. The storm killed more than 100 people in North Carolina. Power was back on, schools had reopened and many roads had reopened, Cooper said. He credited a bipartisan bill he passed for giving western counties more flexibility.

“People are obviously voting early in western North Carolina,” he said. “Their turnout is strong, so their voices will be heard.”

Cooper, who withdrew from Harris’ short list of running mates, said it would have been very difficult for him to be on a national ticket as he has spent the last month focusing on the state’s recovery from Helene.