# 2016 North Carolina Attorney General election

Elections in North Carolina :
Federal government
U.S. President
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
Dem
Rep
2012
2016
Dem
2020
Dem
Rep
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate
1789
1792
1795
1798
1799
1800
1804
1805 (sp)
1806
1810
1812
1814 (sp)
1815 (sp)
1816
1816 (sp)
1818
1822
1825
1846 (sp)
1828
1828 (sp)
1829
1829 (sp)
1830
1835
1836
1836 (sp)
1840 (sp)
1841
1843
1847
1849
1854 (sp)
1855
1858 (sp)
1861
1868
1872
1872 (sp)
1876
1879
1883
1884
1889
1890
1894
1894 (sp)
1897
1901
1903
1907
1909
1913
1914
1918
1920
1924
1926
1930
1932
1932 (sp)
1936
1938
1942
1944
1948
1948 (sp)
1950
1950 (sp)
1954
1954 (sp)
1956
1958 (sp)
1960
1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1986 (sp)
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
U.S. House of Representatives
1790
1791
1793
1795
sp:4
1796
sp:4
1798
sp:10
1800
1801
sp:8
1802
sp:8
1803
1804
1805
sp:5
1806
sp:10
1808
sp:7
1810
1813
sp:3
1815
1816
sp:6
sp:8
1817
1818
sp:7
sp:11
1819
1821
sp:4
1823
1825
sp:2
1826
sp:8
1827
1829
sp:5
sp:10
1831
1833
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1858
sp:8
1859
1865
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1928
1930
1934
1938
1940
1942
1946
1948
1950
1952
1956
1958
1960
sp:12
1968
1972
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
sp:1
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
sp:12
2016
2018
9
2019
sp:3
sp:9
2020
2022
2024 :
State executive
Gubernatorial elections
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1810
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1838
1840
1842
1844
1846
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1860
1862
1864
1865
1866
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Lieutenant Governor elections
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Attorney General elections
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Council of State elections
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Secretary of State elections
1940
1944
2024 :
State legislature
State Senate elections
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
State House elections
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
State judiciary
Judicial elections
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures
2012Amendment 1 :
Mayoral elections
Charlotte mayoral elections
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2022
Cary mayoral elections
2011
2015
2019
2023
Durham mayoral elections
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023
Fayetteville mayoral elections
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2022
Greensboro mayoral elections
2011
2013
2015
2017
2022
Raleigh mayoral elections
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2022
2024
Winston-Salem mayoral elections
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2016
2020 :
vte :
The 2016 North Carolina election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the Attorney General of North Carolina, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper chose not to run for re-election to a fifth term in office, and instead successfully ran for Governor.
Primary elections were held on March 15, 2016.
Democratic former state senator Josh Stein defeated Republican state senator Buck Newton in the general election. With a margin of 0.4%, this was the closest attorney general race of the 2016 election cycle.

## Democratic primary

Attorney Tim Dunn had announced in November 2014 that he planned to run for attorney general if Roy Cooper did not run for re-election. Cooper did run for governor as expected, but Dunn did not make any further announcements and did not end up running.

### Candidates
#### Declared

* Josh Stein, former state senator and former deputy attorney general of North Carolina
* Marcus Williams, attorney, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2008 and 2010, candidate for NC-08 in 2012, and candidate for state senate in 2014

#### Declined

* Roy Cooper, incumbent Attorney General (ran for Governor)
* Tim Dunn, attorney and perennial candidate

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Josh Stein | 510,003 | 53.37 |
| | Democratic | Marcus Williams | 445,524 | 46.63 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 955,527 | 100.0 |

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Buck Newton, state senator
* Jim O'Neill, Forsyth County District Attorney

#### Declined

* George Rouco, attorney and former CIA officer (ran for NC-09)

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Buck Newton | 503,880 | 54.9 |
| | Republican | Jim O'Neill | 414,073 | 45.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 917,953 | 100.0 |

## General election
### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Josh Stein (D) | Buck Newton (R) | Other | Undecided |
| SurveyUSA | October 28–31, 2016 | 659 | ± 3.9% | 47% | 43% | — | 10% |
| Public Policy Polling | October 21–22, 2016 | 875 | ± 3.3% | 44% | 39% | — | 17% |
| Civitas Institute | October 14–18, 2016 | 651 | ± 3.1% | 38% | 40% | — | 18% |
| Public Policy Polling | September 18–20, 2016 | 1,024 | ± 3.1% | 39% | 35% | — | 25% |
| Civitas Institute | September 11–12, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 37% | 35% | — | 26% |
| Public Policy Polling | August 5–7, 2016 | 830 | ± 3.4% | 39% | 38% | — | 23% |
| Civitas Institute | June 21–26, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 35% | 35% | — | 27% |
| Public Policy Polling | May 20–22, 2016 | 928 | ± 3.2% | 39% | 38% | — | 22% |
| RABA Research | April 27–28, 2016 | 688 | ± 3.7% | 40% | 33% | — | 27% |
| Civitas Institute | April 23–25, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 37% | 32% | 1% | 30% |
| Public Policy Polling | March 18–20, 2016 | 843 | ± 3.4% | 38% | 37% | — | 24% |

### Results

North Carolina Attorney General election, 2016 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Josh Stein | 2,303,619 | 50.27% | −49.73% |
| | Republican | Buck Newton | 2,279,006 | 49.73% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,582,625 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |