RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina voters choosing a successor to term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper were deciding Tuesday between an attorney general who would carry on Cooper’s policies and a lieutenant governor whose blunt speaking style and working-class history favored him among hardline conservatives.

In one of the most-watched gubernatorial races in the country this year, Josh Stein has been elected the next governor of North Carolina.

The Fox News Decision Desk projects North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein will win the state's high-stakes gubernatorial election over Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

There are several high-stakes races for statewide positions in North Carolina. Learn more about the candidates.

After a contentious gubernatorial race has come to a close, Josh Stein will take over for Gov. Roy Cooper in the executive mansion.

(Reuters) -Democrat Josh Stein won the North Carolina governor's race on Tuesday, Edison Research projected, defeating Republican Mark Robinson, whose candidacy imploded following a CNN report that he had called himself a "Black Nazi" and made other offensive remarks on a pornographic website.

First, most of the state's votes were cast before Election Day — roughly three-quarters — and Stein won those by more than 16 percentage points. And while Robinson held an early lead when it came to votes cast on Election Day,

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein was elected governor, defeating a Republican opponent who spent the last months of his campaign denying reports that he had posted racist material in online porn forums.