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Senate District 7

New Hanover County · 2026
Lean RTop Senate target
Partisan baseline (2024)
R+4.6
runs 2.9 pts more Republican than NC overall · narrowing each cycle
2024 result
R+8.8
Lee def. Hill
Jessica Bichler
Democrat · Challenger
  • Small business owner and longtime Wilmington resident
  • Running so every New Hanover resident has the opportunities and stability to thrive
campaign site
Sen. Michael V. Lee
Republican · Incumbent
  • Senate Majority Leader since 2025 and chair of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee; serving his fifth non-consecutive term
  • Casts himself as a moderate while voting with his caucus on its priorities, including the 12-week abortion ban
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 7, from the Census American Community Survey (2020-2024). The dark tick on each bar marks North Carolina overall.

Median household income
$78,974
NC
▲ vs NC · NC $75k
Bachelor's degree or higher
46%
NC
▲ vs NC · NC 36%
Poverty rate
11%
NC
▼ vs NC · NC 13%
Homeownership
65%
NC
▼ vs NC · NC 67%
Unemployment
4.5%
NC
▼ vs NC · NC 4.7%
Uninsured rate
9%
NC
▼ vs NC · NC 10%
Top communities: Wilmington 89% · Castle Hayne 5% · Carolina Beach 4% · Wrightsville Beach 1% · Kure Beach 1%

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; 124,533 voted in 2024.

White
86%
89%
Black
7.5%
6.4%
Hispanic
2.7%
2.1%
Asian
0.9%
0.8%
American Indian
0.2%
0.2%
Other
2.2%
1.5%
Registered (2024)Voted (2024)
Voter race and ethnicity are self-reported at registration; voters without a designation (9% 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 46% to 48%.

Precinct detail

35 precincts.

About this seat

SD-7 is rated Lean R from its 2024 partisan baseline of R+4.6. Districts in this range are competitive when candidates, campaigns and the year’s statewide environment line up against the district’s modest partisan tilt. Its baseline has been essentially stable since 2018.

Campaign money

Follow the money ›
Bichler (D) $114K cash$1.2M cash Lee (R)
Lee holds 10.1x the cash on hand. Raised this cycle: Bichler $172K / Lee $1.3M.
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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