United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2014

United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2014

November 4, 2014

Nominee Thom Tillis Kay Hagan Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,423,259 1,377,651 Percentage 48.8% 47.3%

Election results by county   Hagan—70-80%   Hagan—60-70%   Hagan—50-60%   Hagan—<50%   Tillis—<50%   Tillis—50-60%   Tillis—60-70%   Tillis—70-80%

U.S. Senator before election Kay Hagan Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Thom Tillis Republican

The 2014 United States Senate election in North Carolina took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of North Carolina, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. On May 6, 2014, the primary occurred.

Incumbent Democratic Senator Kay Hagan ran for re-election to a second term in office. She faced Republican Thom Tillis, the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, and Libertarian Sean Haugh, his party's nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2002, in the general election. Tillis defeated Hagan by about forty-five thousand votes.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Kay Hagan, incumbent U.S. Senator^[2][3]
• Ernest T. Reeves,^[4] retired U.S. Army captain^[5]
• Will Stewart, small business owner^[6]

Withdrew

• Fred Westphal, retired University of Miami professor and political activist^[7][8]

Results

Democratic primary election results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kay Hagan (Incumbent)	372,209	77.16
	Democratic	Will Stewart	66,903	13.87
	Democratic	Ernest T. Reeves	43,257	8.97
Total votes			482,579	100

Republican primary

Candidates

The eight Republican candidates on the 2014 U.S. Senate primary ballot were the most in party history in North Carolina, more than the seven on the ballot in the 2002 Republican primary won by Elizabeth Dole.^[10]

Declared

• Ted Alexander, former Mayor of Shelby^[11]
• Alex Bradshaw^[4]
• Greg Brannon, physician and Tea Party activist^[12]
• Heather Grant, nurse practitioner^[13]
• Mark Harris, pastor of First Baptist Church of Charlotte and President of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina^[14]
• Edward Kryn, retired physician^[15]
• James Snyder, Jr., former State Representative, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2002 and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2004^[16]
• Thom Tillis, Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives^[3][17]

Withdrew

• Terry Embler, police detective^[18][19]
• Bill Flynn, radio host and candidate for North Carolina's 6th congressional district in 2012^[20][21]

Declined

• Philip E. Berger, President pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate^[3][18][22]
• Cherie K. Berry, North Carolina Commissioner of Labor^[23]
• Peter S. Brunstetter, State Senator^[24][25]
• James P. Cain, attorney and former United States Ambassador to Denmark^[3][26]
• Renee Ellmers, U.S. Representative^[27]
• Dan Forest, Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina^[28]
• Virginia Foxx, U.S. Representative^[29]
• George Holding, U.S. Representative^[18]
• Patrick McHenry, U.S. Representative^[30]
• Sue Myrick, former U.S. Representative and former Mayor of Charlotte^[3]
• Robert Pittenger, U.S. Representative^[18]
• Kieran Shanahan, attorney^[3]
• Lynn Wheeler, former member of the Charlotte City Council and former Mayor Pro Tempore of Charlotte^[31]

Endorsements

Greg Brannon

Politicians Terry Embler, police detective and withdrawn candidate for the U.S. Senate[32] Mike Lee, U.S. Senator (R-UT)[33] Thomas Massie, U.S. Representative (R-KY)[34] Rand Paul, U.S. Senator (R-KY)[35] Ron Paul, Former U.S. Representative (R-TX)[36] Political figures Ann Coulter, author and conservative political commentator[37] Erick Erickson, conservative pundit and editor-in-chief of RedState[38] Mark Levin, author and conservative radio host[39] Organisations FreedomWorks[40] Gun Owners of America[41] National Association for Gun Rights[42]

Mark Harris
Peter S. Brunstetter, former State Senator[43] Warren T. Daniel, State Senator[44] Robin Hayes, former U.S. Representative and former Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party[45] Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas[46] Buck Newton, State Senator[44] Dan Soucek, State Senator[44]

Jim Snyder
Greensboro News & Record[47]

Thom Tillis

Organizations American Crossroads[48] U.S. Chamber of Commerce[48] Politicians Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida[49] Pat McCrory, Governor of North Carolina[50] Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and 2012 presidential nominee [51] State legislators Harry Brown, State Senator[52] David Curtis, State Senator[52] Jim Davis, State Senator[52] Thom Goolsby, State Senator[52] Rick Gunn, State Senator[52] Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr., State Senator[52] Brent Jackson, State Senator[52] Wesley Meredith, State Senator[52] Bill Rabon, State Senator[52] Ron Rabin, State Senator[52] Robert A. Rucho, State Senator[52] Jeff Tarte, State Senator[52] Tommy Tucker, State Senator[52] Trudy Wade, State Senator[52] Dean Arp, State Representative[52] Marilyn Avila, State Representative[52] John Bell, State Representative[52] Jamie Boles, State Representative[52] Bill Brawley, State Representative[52] Brian Brown, State Representative[52] Rayne Brown, State Representative[52] Rob Bryan, State Representative[52] Dana Bumgardner, State Representative[52] Justin Burr, State Representative[52] Rick Catlin, State Representative[52] Jeff Collins, State Representative[52] N. Leo Daughtry, State Representative[52] Ted Davis, State Representative[52] Jimmy Dixon, State Representative[52] Josh Dobson, State Representative[52] Nelson Dollar, State Representative[52] John Faircloth, State Representative[52] Jim Fulghum, State Representative[52] Mike Hager, State Representative[52] Jon Hardister, State Representative[52] Mark Hollo, State Representative[52] Craig Horn, State Representative[52] Julia C. Howard, State Representative[52] Pat Hurley, State Representative[52] Frank Iler, State Representative[52] Charlie Jeter, State Representative[52] Linda P. Johnson, State Representative[52] Donny Lambeth, State Representative[52] J.H. Langdon, State Representative[52] Chris Malone, State Representative[52] Susan Martin, State Representative[52] Pat McElraft, State Representative[52] Chuck McGrady, State Representative[52] Allen McNeill, State Representative[52] Tim Moffitt, State Representative[52] Tim Moore, State Representative[52] Tom Murry, State Representative[52] Michele Presnell, State Representative[52] Nathan Ramsey, State Representative[52] Steve Ross, State Representative[52] Jason Saine, State Representative[52] Ruth Samuelson, State Representative[52] Jacqueline Schaffer, State Representative[52] Mitchell S. Setzer, State Representative[52] Phil Shepard, State Representative[52] Paul Stam, State Representative[52] Sarah Stevens, State Representative[52] Mike C. Stone, State Representative[52] John Szoka, State Representative[52] John Torbett, State Representative[52] Rena Turner, State Representative[52] Roger West, State Representative[52] Roger Younts, State Representative[52]

Polling

Primary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ted Alexander	Alex Bradshaw	Greg Brannon	Heather Grant	Mark Harris	Edward Kryn	Jim Snyder	Thom Tillis	Other/ Undecided
Public Policy Polling	May 3–4, 2014	925	± 3.2%	2%	0%	28%	4%	15%	1%	1%	40%	11%
Public Policy Polling	April 26–28, 2014	694	± 3.7%	2%	1%	20%	5%	11%	2%	3%	46%	12%
SurveyUSA	April 16–22, 2014	392	± 5%	1%	1%	20%	2%	15%	2%	2%	39%	19%
Public Policy Polling	April 3–6, 2014	314	± 5.5%	6%	5%	15%	7%	11%	1%	2%	18%	34%
SurveyUSA	March 27–31, 2014	433	± 4.8%	6%	1%	15%	6%	11%	2%	3%	23%	34%
SurveyUSA	March 19–23, 2014	405	± 5%	1%	2%	13%	5%	9%	0%	5%	27%	38%
SurveyUSA	March 17–19, 2014	405	± 5%	7%	4%	15%	11%	6%	3%	4%	28%	23%
Public Policy Polling	March 6–9, 2014	392	± 5%	7%	6%	14%	11%	7%	1%	4%	14%	36%
American Insights	February 11–15, 2014	168	± 7.6%	—	—	4%	4%	7%	—	—	11%	74%
Public Policy Polling	February 6–9, 2014	305	± 5.6%	10%	—	13%	13%	8%	2%	—	20%	34%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Philip Berger	Greg Brannon	Jim Cain	Renee Ellmers	Bill Flynn	Virginia Foxx	Heather Grant	Mark Harris	Thom Tillis	Lynn Wheeler	Other/ Undecided
Public Policy Polling	January 9–12, 2014	575	± 4.1%	—	11%	—	—	7%	—	11%	8%	19%	—	44%
Public Policy Polling	December 5–8, 2013	529	± 4.3%	—	11%	—	—	8%	—	11%	12%	13%	—	44%
Public Policy Polling	November 8–11, 2013	498	± 4.4%	—	11%	—	—	—	—	8%	14%	20%	—	47%
Public Policy Polling	September 6–9, 2013	311	± 5.6%	13%	6%	11%	—	—	—	8%	5%	12%	2%	43%
Public Policy Polling	August 8–11, 2013	344	± 5.3%	9%	7%	9%	—	—	18%	4%	4%	8%	2%	40%
				22%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	23%	—	56%
Public Policy Polling	July 12–14, 2013	373	± 5.1%	11%	7%	11%	11%	—	16%	—	1%	5%	3%	35%
				22%	—	—	18%	—	—	—	—	21%	—	39%
				—	—	—	25%	—	—	—	—	32%	—	43%
Public Policy Polling	June 12–14, 2013	374	± 5.1%	11%	7%	8%	9%	—	23%	—	4%	9%	3%	27%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Philip Berger	Cherie Berry	Greg Brannon	Renee Ellmers	Terry Embler	Dan Forest	Virginia Foxx	George Holding	Patrick McHenry	Thom Tillis	Other/ Undecided
Public Policy Polling	May 17–20, 2013	366	± 5.1%	10%	14%	7%	10%	—	—	15%	—	—	6%	38%
Public Policy Polling	April 11–14, 2013	468	± 4.5%	11%	18%	6%	12%	1%	—	13%	—	—	7%	32%
Public Policy Polling	March 7–10, 2013	530	± 4.3%	8%	12%	4%	10%	1%	18%	13%	—	7%	2%	24%
Public Policy Polling	February 7–10, 2013	518	± 4.3%	7%	18%	5%	10%	1%	—	18%	3%	10%	3%	27%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Philip Berger	Renee Ellmers	Virginia Foxx	George Holding	Richard Hudson	Patrick McHenry	Mark Meadows	Sue Myrick	Robert Pittenger	Thom Tillis	Other/ Undecided
Public Policy Polling	January 10–13, 2013	449	± 4.6%	5%	11%	21%	2%	5%	15%	—	—	6%	2%	33%
Public Policy Polling	December 6–9, 2012	462	± 4.6%	—	11%	17%	9%	6%	13%	4%	14%	—	2%	25%

Runoff

Results

Republican primary election results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thom Tillis	223,174	45.68
	Republican	Greg Brannon	132,630	27.15
	Republican	Mark Harris	85,727	17.55
	Republican	Heather Grant	22,971	4.70
	Republican	Jim Snyder	9,414	1.93
	Republican	Ted Alexander	9,258	1.89
	Republican	Alex Lee Bradshaw	3,528	0.72
	Republican	Edward Kryn	1,853	0.38
Total votes			488,555	100

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

• Tim D'Annunzio, businessman, Republican candidate for NC-08 in 2010 and Republican nominee for NC-04 in 2012^[53]
• Sean Haugh, pizza delivery man and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2002^[54]

Results

Libertarian primary election results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Sean Haugh	1,226	60.69
	Libertarian	Tim D'Annunzio	794	39.31
Total votes			2,020	100

Other parties

Certified write-in candidates

• Barry Gurney, small business owner^[55]
• John W. Rhodes, former Republican State Representative^[55]
• David Waddell, Constitution Party member and former Indian Trail town councilman^[55][56]

General election

Candidates

• Kay Hagan (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
• Sean Haugh (L), pizza delivery man and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2002
• Thom Tillis (R), Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives

Outside spending

In July 2014, Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer calculated that as of the end of June, more than $26 million had been spent by outside advocacy groups on the election, with $17 million of it attacking Hagan or supporting Tillis and less than $9 million supporting Hagan or attacking Tillis. By contrast, outside groups spent $25 million during the entire 2008 election. He reported that only $11.4 million had been reported to the FEC, with the rest of the "dark money" coming from groups that did not have to disclose their donors. 27% of the money spent supporting Tillis came from groups required to disclose their donors whereas 69% of the money supporting Hagan did so.^[57]

The final cost of outside spending according to Opensecrets.org place the amounts at $8.5 million for Hagan and $35.5 million attacking Tillis, and $13.7 million for Tillis and $20.9 million attacking Hagan, placing the totals by candidate at $44 million for Hagan, and $34.6 million for Tillis. ^[58]

Debates

Three televised debates between the candidates were held: the first on September 3 moderated by Norah O'Donnell of CBS, the second on October 7 moderated by George Stephanopoulos of ABC, and the third (the only one to feature Sean Haugh) on October 9 moderated by Jon Evans of WECT-TV.^[59]

Video of the first debate is available here, with the second here and the third here.

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Kay Hagan (D)	Thom Tillis (R)	Sean Haugh (L)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	November 1–3, 2014	1,333	± 2.7%	46%	44%	5%	—	6%
				48%	46%	—	—	6%
Public Policy Polling	October 30–31, 2014	738	± ?	46%	45%	4%	—	5%
YouGov	October 25–31, 2014	1,727	± 3%	44%	41%	—	3%	12%
Gravis Marketing	October 29–30, 2014	1,006	± 3%	46%	47%	—	—	8%
Civitas Institute	October 29–30, 2014	600	± 4%	41%	41%	6%	—	10%
				45%	44%	—	—	11%
Harper Polling	October 28–30, 2014	511	± 4.34%	44%	46%	6%	—	4%
				45%	48%	—	—	7%
Fox News	October 28–30, 2014	909	± 3%	43%	42%	4%	1%	9%
CNN/ORC	October 27–30, 2014	559 LV	± 4%	48%	46%	4%	—	2%
		896 RV	± 3.5%	47%	41%	8%	—	4%
Rasmussen Reports	October 28–29, 2014	982	± 3%	47%	46%	—	3%	3%
Public Policy Polling	October 28–29, 2014	657	± ?	47%	46%	4%	—	3%
Vox Populi	October 26–27, 2014	615	± 3.95%	43%	48%	—	—	9%
Monmouth University	October 23–26, 2014	432	± 4.7%	48%	46%	1%	—	4%
Elon University	October 21–25, 2014	687 LV	± 3.74%	44.7%	40.7%	—	6.3%	6.6%
		996 RV	± 3.11%	44.8%	37.5%	—	7.7%	8.5%
SurveyUSA	October 21–25, 2014	802	± 4%	44%	44%	5%	3%	5%
NBC News/Marist	October 19–23, 2014	756 LV	± 3.6%	43%	43%	7%	<1%	6%
		1,070 RV	± 3%	42%	40%	8%	1%	9%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	October 16–23, 2014	1,910	± 4%	44%	41%	2%	0%	13%
SurveyUSA	October 16–20, 2014	568	± 4.2%	46%	43%	6%	—	5%
Public Policy Polling	October 16–18, 2014	780	± 3.5%	46%	43%	5%	—	7%
				47%	44%	—	—	8%
Gravis Marketing	October 16–18, 2014	1,022	± 3%	43%	48%	—	—	9%
Civitas Institute	October 15–18, 2014	600	± 4%	41%	42%	6%	—	11%
				44%	44%	—	—	12%
SurveyUSA	October 10–12, 2014	554	± 4.2%	44%	41%	7%	—	8%
				45%	46%	—	—	9%
High Point University	Sep. 30–Oct. 2 & 4–9, 2014	584	± 4.1%	39.5%	40.4%	7%	—	13%
Rasmussen Reports	October 6–7, 2014	970	± 3%	48%	46%	—	2%	4%
Suffolk University	October 4–7, 2014	500	± 4.4%	46.8%	45.4%	4.4%	—	3.4%
Morey Group	October 1–6, 2014	956	± 3.2%	40.1%	37.8%	—	2%	20.2%
NBC News/Marist	September 27–October 1, 2014	665 LV	± 3.8%	44%	40%	7%	<1%	9%
		1,132 RV	± 2.9%	42%	37%	8%	1%	12%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner	September 25–October 1, 2014	1,000	± 2.09%	45%	41%	—	14%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	September 20–October 1, 2014	2,002	± 3%	46%	45%	2%	1%	6%
Civitas	September 25, 27–28, 2014	600	± 4%	46%	41%	4%	1%	8%
		860	± 3.5%	50%	43%	—	—	8%
CNN/ORC	September 22–25, 2014	595 LV	± 4%	46%	43%	7%	—	4%
		860	± 3.5%	46%	39%	9%	—	6%
Gravis Marketing	September 22–23, 2014	860	± 3%	46%	42%	—	—	12%
Global Strategy Group	September 16–18, 2014	600	± 4.9%	45%	41%	5%	—	9%
High Point University	September 13–18, 2014	410	± 5%	42%	40%	6%	—	12%
Fox News	September 14–16, 2014	605	± 4%	41%	36%	6%	—	13%
Public Policy Polling	September 11–14, 2014	1,266	± 2.8%	44%	40%	5%	—	11%
				46%	42%	—	—	12%
Civitas Institute	September 9–10, 2014	490	± 4.5%	46%	43%	5%	—	6%
				47%	46%	—	—	7%
Rasmussen Reports	September 8–10, 2014	1,000	± 4%	45%	39%	—	6%	9%
American Insights	September 5–10, 2014	459	± 4.6%	46%	36%	6%	—	13%
Elon University	September 5–9, 2014	629 LV	± 3.91%	44.9%	40.8%	—	9.1%	5.2%
		983 RV	± 3.13%	42.7%	36.8%	—	10.7%	9.8%
Garin-Hart-Yang	September 3–6, 2014	802	± 3.5%	48%	45%	—	—	7%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	August 18–September 2, 2014	2,059	± 3%	42%	43%	5%	0%	10%
Suffolk University	August 16–19, 2014	500	± 4.4%	45.4%	43%	5.2%	—	6.4%
Public Policy Polling	August 14–17, 2014	856	± 3.4%	42%	38%	8%	—	13%
				43%	42%	—	—	14%
Rasmussen Reports	August 5–6, 2014	750	± 4%	40%	45%	—	6%	9%
Civitas Institute	July 28–29, 2014	600	± 4%	41%	39%	7%	—	12%
				43%	45%	—	—	10%
Gravis Marketing	July 22–27, 2014	1,380	± 3%	44%	41%	—	—	15%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	July 5–24, 2014	2,678	± 3.5%	44%	45%	—	2%	7%
Public Policy Polling	July 17–20, 2014	1,062	± 3%	41%	34%	8%	—	16%
				42%	39%	—	—	19%
Civitas Institute	June 18–19 & 22, 2014	600	± 4%	42%	36%	9%	—	12%
				47%	43%	—	—	9%
Public Policy Polling	June 12–15, 2014	1,076	± 3%	39%	34%	11%	—	16%
				42%	38%	—	—	20%
Magellan Strategies	June 5–8, 2014	700	± 3.7%	47%	46%	—	—	7%
Civitas Institute	May 20–22, 2014	600	± 4%	36%	39%	8%	—	15%
				41%	46%	—	—	12%
Public Policy Polling	May 9–11, 2014	877	± 3.3%	38%	36%	11%	—	15%
				41%	41%	—	—	18%
Rasmussen Reports	May 7–8, 2014	750	± 4%	44%	45%	—	5%	7%
Magellan Strategies	April 14–15, 2014	804	± 3.46%	43%	43%	—	8%	6%
New York Times/Kaiser Family	April 8–15, 2014	900	± ?	42%	40%	—	5%	14%
Public Policy Polling	April 3–6, 2014	740	± 3.6%	43%	41%	—	—	16%
SurveyUSA	March 27–31, 2014	1,489	± 2.6%	45%	46%	—	—	9%
Public Policy Polling	March 6–9, 2014	884	± 3.3%	45%	43%	—	—	13%
Hickman Analytics	February 17–20, 2014	400	± 4.9%	45%	41%	—	—	13%
American Insights	February 11–15, 2014	611	± 4%	38%	35%	—	—	26%
Public Policy Polling	February 6–9, 2014	708	± 3.7%	40%	42%	—	—	17%
Rasmussen Reports	January 22–23, 2014	500	± 4.5%	40%	47%	—	3%	10%
Harper Polling	January 20–21, 2014	778	± 3.51%	44%	44%	—	—	12%
Public Policy Polling	January 9–12, 2014	1,384	± 2.6%	42%	43%	—	—	15%
Public Policy Polling	December 5–8, 2013	1,281	± 2.7%	44%	42%	—	—	14%
Public Policy Polling	November 8–11, 2013	701	± 4%	44%	42%	—	—	14%
Public Policy Polling	October 4–6, 2013	746	± ?%	47%	40%	—	—	13%
Public Policy Polling	September 6–9, 2013	600	± 4%	51%	36%	—	—	14%
Public Policy Polling	August 8–11, 2013	600	± 4%	47%	39%	—	—	14%
Public Policy Polling	July 12–14, 2013	600	± 4%	49%	38%	—	—	12%
Public Policy Polling	June 12–14, 2013	500	± 4.4%	45%	40%	—	—	15%
Public Policy Polling	May 17–20, 2013	500	± 4.4%	48%	41%	—	—	11%
Public Policy Polling	April 11–14, 2013	601	± 4%	49%	39%	—	—	11%
Public Policy Polling	March 7–10, 2013	611	± 4%	50%	36%	—	—	14%
Public Policy Polling	February 7–10, 2013	600	± 4%	46%	38%	—	—	16%
Public Policy Polling	January 10–13, 2013	608	± 4%	47%	37%	—	—	16%
Public Policy Polling	December 6–9, 2012	578	± 4.1%	48%	38%	—	—	14%

Results

2014 North Carolina U.S. Senate election^[60]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Thom Tillis	1,423,259	48.82%	4.64
	Democratic	Kay Hagan	1,377,651	47.26%	5.39
	Libertarian	Sean Haugh	109,100	3.74%	0.62
	Other	Write-ins	5,271	0.18%	0.14
Plurality			45,608	1.56%
Turnout			2,915,281
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing	5.0

See also

• United States Senate elections, 2014
• United States elections, 2014

References

1. "Republicans seize Senate, gaining full control of Congress". November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
2. CNN: Sen. Kay Hagan to run again in 2014
3. Miller, Joshua (November 13, 2012). "Hagan Targeted by GOP, Ready for 2014 N.C. Race". Roll Call. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
4. NC State Board of Elections: Candidate filing list
5. News & Observer: 2 long-shot Democrats challenge Kay Hagan
6. News & Observer: Kay Hagan gets a challenger
7. Fayetteville Observer
8. SenatorWestphal.com - on his site, Westphal wrote: "I could not raise the $1470 filing fee for the Senate race in North Carolina, therefore, I am heading to Fort Myers on February 28th. It is my intention to file for the House of Representatives in the 11th District, which comprises of the Fort Myers area."
9. NC State Board of Elections website
10. Ostermeier, Eric (May 6, 2014). "North Carolina GOP Eyes 2nd Ever US Senate Primary Runoff". Smart Politics.
11. Shelby Star
12. Dr. Greg Brannon steps up to challenge Hagan in 2014
13. Heather Grant to run for U.S. Senate seat - journalpatriot: News
14. Trygstad, Kyle. "Conservative Preacher Joins North Carolina Senate Primary". Roll Call. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
15. Archived February 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
16. WBTV/Associated Press
17. WRAL/AP: Tillis says he'll run for US Senate
18. Mimms, Sarah (February 13, 2013). "N.C. Labor Commissioner Considering Run Against Hagan". National Journal. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
19. "Terry Embler - As many if not most have noticed, I have...". Facebook. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
20. Fox 8
21. John Frank (January 30, 2014). "Republican Bill Flynn takes early exit from US Senate race". News Observer. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
22. News & Observer Under the Dome: Phil Berger won't run for US Senate
23. Frank, John (May 29, 2013). "Cherie Berry says she won't run for U.S. Senate". The News & Observer. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
24. Robertson, Gary D. (September 18, 2013). "Brunstetter considering US Senate bid". WRAL-TV. Associated Press. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
25. News & Observer Under the Dome: Pete Brunstetter says he won't seek US Senate seat
26. Trygstad, Kyle (May 17, 2013). "Ambassador Eyeing Kay Hagan Challenge". Roll Call. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
27. House Republican Won't Run for Senate #NCSEN | At the Races
28. Morrill, Jim (March 13, 2013). "If nominated, he will not run ....". Campaign Tracker. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
29. Cahn, Emily (August 20, 2013). "Virginia Foxx Says No to Senate Bid in North Carolina". Roll Call. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
30. Cahn, Emily (April 11, 2013). "North Carolina: McHenry Won't Run Against Hagan". Roll Call. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
31. Morrill, Jim (April 26, 2013). "Table Talk". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
32. "Terry Embler - As I am no longer in the running for the office, I...". Facebook. August 26, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
33. Frank, John (March 6, 2014). "Utah Sen. Mike Lee endorses Greg Brannon in contested Senate primary". News and Observer. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
34. Liberty Circle: Congressman Thomas Massie Endorses Greg Brannon for U.S. Senate
35. "Rand Paul Endorses in North Carolina Primary". Roll Call. October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
36. Ron Paul 2014 Endorsements | LibertyPAC
37. News & Observer: Coulter endorses Brannon, bashes Tillis
38. Winston-Salem Journal
39. "Mark Levin endorses Greg Brannon for US Senate". The Right Scoop. 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
40. FreedomWorks backs Brannon in N.C. - Katie Glueck - POLITICO.com
41. Gun Owners of America Endorses Greg Brannon for US Senate — Brannon for US Senate
42. NAGR PAC Endorses Greg Brannon for US Senate — Brannon for US Senate
43. News & Observer Morning Memo (Nov. 25, 2013)
44. News & Observer
45. News & Observer
46. Charlotte Observer
47. N&R endorses Jim Snyder in Republican US Senate primary
48. Romney endorses Tillis in North Carolina | TheHill
49. http://atr.rollcall.com/2016-rand-paul-jeb-bush-north-carolina-senate http://atr.rollcall.com/2016-rand-paul-jeb-bush-north-carolina-senate/
50. Governor Pat McCrory endorses Thom Tillis in Senate race
51. Romney endorses Tillis | Under the Dome Blog | NewsObserver.com
52. Legislative Endorsements Roll In for Thom Tillis | Thom Tillis
53. Charlotte Observer: Controversial former candidate making Senate bid
54. Charlotte Observer
55. State Board of Elections: CERTIFIED UNAFFILIATED AND WRITE-IN CANDIDATES
56. Charlotte Observer: Indian Trail councilman tenders resignation – in Klingon
57. "Outside spending, 'dark' money fuel N.C. Senate race". The Charlotte Observer. July 4, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
58. "2014 Outside Spending, by Race". opensecrets.org. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
59. News & Observer: What NC voters might learn from final Hagan-Tillis debates
60. NC State Board of Elections website

External links

• U.S. Senate elections in North Carolina, 2014 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Kay Hagan for U.S. Senate
• Thom Tillis for U.S. Senate
• Sean Haugh for U.S. Senate
• Barry Gurney for U.S. Senate
• John W. Rhodes for U.S. Senate
• David Waddell for U.S. Senate