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Senate District 42

Mecklenburg County · 2026

Lean D2024 rematch

Partisan baseline (2024)

D+3.3

runs 5.0 pts more Democratic than NC overall · moving toward Democrats since 2018

2024 result

D+0.2

won by Bradley (D)

Sen. Woodson Bradley

Democrat · Incumbent

First-term senator who won this Mecklenburg seat in 2024 by roughly 210 votes, one of the closest margins in the state
Charlotte realtor since 2002 who owns a boutique real estate firm

campaign site

Stacie McGinn

Republican · Challenger

Attorney seeking a rematch after losing this seat to Woodson Bradley by about 210 votes in 2024
Lobbied alongside Moms for Liberty for the Parents' Bill of Rights restricting classroom discussion of gender and sexuality

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 42, from the Census American Community Survey (2020-2024). The dark tick on each bar marks North Carolina overall.

Median household income

$125,177

▲ vs NC · NC $75k

Bachelor's degree or higher

64%

▲ vs NC · NC 36%

Poverty rate

▼ vs NC · NC 13%

Homeownership

71%

▲ vs NC · NC 67%

Unemployment

3.8%

▼ vs NC · NC 4.7%

Uninsured rate

▼ vs NC · NC 10%

Top communities: Charlotte 81% · Matthews 19% · Midland 0%

Who registers vs. who votes

Each group's share of registered voters against its share of those who actually voted in 2024. About 167k voters are registered here; 127,372 voted in 2024.

White

78%

81%

Black

10%

9.0%

Hispanic

4.5%

3.8%

Asian

3.9%

3.7%

American Indian

0.3%

Other

3.3%

2.6%

Registered (2024)Voted (2024)

Voter race and ethnicity are self-reported at registration; voters without a designation (7% 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 49% to 51%.

Precinct detail

44 precincts.

About this seat

SD-42 is rated Lean D from its 2024 partisan baseline of D+3.3. Districts in this range are competitive when candidates, campaigns and the year’s statewide environment line up against the district’s modest partisan tilt. Democrats have gained 2.1 points of vote share here since 2018, moving the seat’s two-way margin 4.3 points their way.

Campaign money

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Bradley (D) $240K cash$276K cash McGinn (R)

McGinn holds 1.1x the cash on hand. Raised this cycle: Bradley $442K / McGinn $423K.

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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