NC Senate District 19 results: Democrat Val Applewhite defeats Republican Wesley Meredith

Democrat Val Applewhite of Fayetteville has defeated Republican Gray's Creek resident Wesley Meredith for the North Carolina Senate District 19 seat, according to unofficial election night returns from the Board of Elections.

Applewhite led with 30,219 votes to Meredith's 27,424 votes. That's 52.42% to 47.58%. She will replace Democratic state Sen. Kirk deViere, who she defeated in the Democratic primary in May.

“This is not a moment, this is movement,” Applewhite told supporters gathered for an election watch party at the Metropolitan Room event space in downtown Fayetteville.

In an interview, Applewhite said she did well because of her many years of being active in the community, both from her past service on the Fayetteville City Council and with nonprofit organizations. “I think it’s the bond I have with the citizens of Fayetteville and Cumberland County. They know Val Applewhite. They know me as a person, not just an elected official. Right? And I think that’s what resonated.”

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper endorsed Applewhite early on — during the Democratic primary — and she thinks that helped, too. And she said her campaign’s ground game to get out the vote outperformed deViere in the primary and Meredith in the general election.

Get all the Cumberland County results:Click here to see who is winning and who is losing in the 2022 general election.

Meredith previously held the Senate District 19 seat but lost it in 2018 to deViere in a close race. He lost again to deViere in 2020.

The campaign was expensive, according to campaign finance documents filed with the State Board of Elections.

The Democratic Party through its Senate Caucus spent at least $1.6 million to help Applewhite, according to filings with the N.C. Board of Elections available Tuesday, while the Republican Party’s NC Senate Majority Fund spent at least $618,000 for Meredith. Those figures don’t include other donations the candidates received this campaign cycle.

Meredith on Monday said he would have no comment on the outcome of the election, regardless of whether he won or lost.

Senior North Carolina reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 or pwoolverton@fayobserver.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Val Applewhite beats Wesley Meredith in NC Senate District 19 election