Polls are closing in North Carolina, a key swing state where Democrats are hoping to pull off an upset after a scandal-plagued GOP gubernatorial campaign.

The Tar Heel State has not elected a Democratic candidate since 2008, when former President Barack Obama won the state's coveted 15 electoral votes. North Carolina gained another vote after the 2020 census.

Former President Donald Trump was ahead in North Carolina in the 2020 presidential election, beating President Joe Biden by about 2.5% 74,000 votes.

Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, both targeted North Carolina – Harris visited the state six times, while Trump visited the Tar Heel state 11 times Axios Data.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections said it expects to report early voting between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., while precincts will begin reporting from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Republicans also hope to win the race for the House of Representatives, which has been led by term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper since 2017. The election campaign of the right-wing extremist gubernatorial candidate and current governor Mark Robinson, however, does hit by scandal after one CNN investigation revealed his alleged history of offensive and racist comments on a pornography website, including describing himself as a “black Nazi.”

Most polls suggest the two presidential candidates are too close, but many suggest Trump still has a small lead in the state. However, most polls have shown support for Robinson has plummeted since the comments scandal.

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