CalledUnofficial results
North Carolina Senate District 1
North Carolina State Senate · North Carolina
Jerry Tillett won re-election by 4.1 points over Melissa Zehner.
Jerry TillettRepublican · winner · incumbent
52.1%42,924
Melissa ZehnerDemocrat
47.9%39,504
82,428 votes
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections unofficial resultsUpdated Nov 7, 2026, 1:22 PM ET
Where the race moved
Against the 2024 presidential vote
The seat's recent races
Source: Past results: 99chambers results archive (MEDSL, Klarner, state election offices)
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Melissa ZehnerJerry Tillett
$20K
Raised by the campaign
$187.8K
$5K
Spent by the campaign
$89.1K
$15.7K
Cash on hand
$68.3K
Campaign money: North Carolina State Board of Elections, through Jun 30, 2026; North Carolina State Board of Elections, through Oct 17, 2026.
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections campaign filingsUpdated Oct 17, 2026
Pre-election forecast (final, Nov 3)
Our model's last run before Election Day, Nov 3, 2026. It no longer updates.
- Melissa Zehner
- 11%
- Jerry Tillett
- 89%
- Projected margin
- R+9.1