Caide Wooten
UNC-Chapel Hill College Republicans Richard Wheeler and Idris Jarely Parada embrace in celebration of Thom Tillis' election to the United States Senate Tuesday evening, Nov. 4, 2014 during the North Carolina Republican Party's Election Night Watch Party at Shucker's Oyster Bar & Grill in Raleigh. Tillis' election, along with six other Republican candidates across the country, gave the control of the Senate to the Republican Party.
Former NC Speaker of the House Thom Tillis took North Carolina’s senatorial seat for the Republican Party by about two percentage points, defeating Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan Tuesday night after a $111 million race, the most expensive senatorial race in the nation.
Tillis was the sixth candidate to win a seat in the Senate for the GOP, officially giving Republicans control of the U.S. senate for the next two years.
Candidates and supporters of the North Carolina Republican Party gathered at Shuckers Oyster Bar and Grill in downtown Raleigh Tuesday night in anticipation and celebration of Tillis’ senatorial win.
“Regardless of the results, I am so happy with the turnout tonight,” said Nicole Simmons, a Raleigh citizen in attendance. “It is so nice to see that we have this much support for Thom Tillis and the rest of the Republican candidates running in this election.”
After North Carolina’s polls closed at 7:30 p.m., tension throughout the room increased as Republican supporters in attendance awaited the first results of this year’s election.
“I have been following this race very closely, and it is nice to get to talk to some of the other Republican candidates involved in this election,” said Ashley Bright of Raleigh.
Bright said she felt a shift in conversation and mood throughout the room as the election initially grew in favor of Hagan.
As the results continued to come in, the crowd huddled around television screens, keeping a close watch on the other senatorial races taking place throughout the U.S.
The room periodically filled with applause and excitement as the results of other senatorial races were announced in favor of the Republican Party.
“I am happy for West Virginia,” Bright said in response to Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s win. “The U.S. is well on its way to a Republican Senate.”
The cost of this year’s election was a heavy topic of discussion among attendees throughout the night. At about $111 million, North Carolina’s 2014 senatorial race was the costliest in the nation.
“If the election ends in favor of Thom Tillis, I will feel like we spent what we needed to,” Simmons said. “The candidates decide to spend this money with the intentions of getting citizens involved in the election. It gets information out there, and ultimately draws attention to the election”.
Lindsay Greene, a freshman in design studies also believed this year’s campaign budgets were in favor of the election.
“I think it is beneficial for candidates to spend money advertising themselves,” Greene said. “It stirs interest.”
The mood of the room shifted again, this time heightening feelings of excitement and anticipation as the results of the election began to favor Tillis.
“It looks like we are headed in the right direction,” Simmons said. “I still feel like it’s going to be a long night.”
The Republican candidates in attendance at the event declined to comment about the election before press time.