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Senate District 4

Wayne, Wilson & Greene counties · 2026
Lean R
Partisan baseline (2024)
R+7.3
runs 5.6 pts more Republican than NC overall · moving toward Republicans since 2018
2024 result
R+10.2
won by Newton (R)
Jessica (Jess) Rivera
Democrat · Challenger
  • Marine Corps veteran with two combat deployments
  • Owns The Garrison Barber & Parlor in downtown Wilson
campaign site
Sen. Buck Newton
Republican · Incumbent
  • Wilson attorney who served in the state Senate 2011-2016 and again since 2022
  • 2016 Republican nominee for Attorney General
campaign site

Election night results

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Live returns and a precinct map for this race on Nov. 3.

Early voting

See early voting ›

Ballots cast so far in this district, in person and by mail. Updated every morning.

Who lives here

The people of Senate District 4, from the Census American Community Survey (2020-2024). The dark tick on each bar marks North Carolina overall.

Median household income
$57,864
NC
▼ vs NC · NC $75k
Bachelor's degree or higher
21%
NC
▼ vs NC · NC 36%
Poverty rate
19%
NC
▲ vs NC · NC 13%
Homeownership
61%
NC
▼ vs NC · NC 67%
Unemployment
5.4%
NC
▲ vs NC · NC 4.7%
Uninsured rate
13%
NC
▲ vs NC · NC 10%
Top communities: Goldsboro 32% · Wilson 28% · Pikeville 6% · Snow Hill 4% · Dudley 4%

Who registers vs. who votes

Each group's share of registered voters against its share of those who actually voted in 2024. About 146k voters are registered here; 103,154 voted in 2024.

White
56%
61%
Black
36%
33%
Hispanic
4.8%
3.3%
Asian
0.6%
0.5%
American Indian
0.2%
0.2%
Other
2.5%
1.5%
Registered (2024)Voted (2024)
Voter race and ethnicity are self-reported at registration; voters without a designation (6% here) are excluded from the voted-side shares. Source: NCSBE voter file, 2024.

How this seat has moved

Actual result (solid)MRPI composite (dashed)Shaded = midterm

How far this district swings

Across these cycles the Democratic share of the two-party vote here has ranged from 42% to 49%.

Precinct detail

62 precincts.

About this seat

SD-4 is rated Lean R from its 2024 partisan baseline of R+7.3. Districts in this range are competitive when candidates, campaigns and the year’s statewide environment line up against the district’s modest partisan tilt. Republicans have gained 0.6 points of vote share here since 2018, moving the seat’s two-way margin 1.1 points their way.

Campaign money

Follow the money ›
Rivera (D) $27K cash$126K cash Newton (R)
Newton holds 4.6x the cash on hand. Raised this cycle: Rivera $31K / Newton $124K.
Actual legislative results, observed except where marked · NCSBE 2018–2024 · boundaries: Redistricting Data Hub (redistrictingdatahub.org) · demographics: Census ACS 2020–2024 · voter file: NCSBE
Data as of October 29, 2026 · campaign finance last refreshed August 20, 2026
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