sen. richard burr (r., n.c.) has won his bid for re-election, defeating lawyer and former state legislator deborah ross in a race that was surprisingly close and illustrated the changing politics and demographics of north carolina. the two-term incumbent retained his seat with 51% of the vote, compared with ms. ross<u+2019>s 45.6%, with 72% of precincts reporting when the associated press called the race. the close margin reflected the degree to which mr. burr, 60 years old, had to fight back against an unexpectedly strong challenge from ms. ross, 53, who wasn<u+2019>t even her party<u+2019>s first choice for the seat. he did it with prodigious fundraising and careful positioning of his candidacy in relation to his party<u+2019>s presidential candidate, donald trump. he supported mr. trump but kept his distance from the celebrity businessman on the campaign trail. mr. burr, a policy-oriented chairman of the intelligence committee, said during the campaign that he wasn<u+2019>t <u+201c>on anyone<u+2019>s coattails,<u+201d> despite efforts by ms. ross to connect the two. mr. burr, who served 10 years in the house before winning his senate seat in 2004, won re-election handily in 2010. some republicans were concerned that he waited until august to begin running ads in a state that became a battleground at all levels in 2016. but mr. burr has built a reputation for constituent service, and he made the case that ms. ross, a former state legislator and former head of the state chapter of the american civil liberties union, was too liberal for north carolina. the republican party has been dominant in north carolina for years, but its political landscape has been changing with an influx of new voters brought in with the expansion of banking and other industries in the state, making it one of the most closely divided battlegrounds in the nation.
richard burr wins north carolina senate race - wsj
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