North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson sought the governorship after Roy Cooper was term-limited.

Mr. Stein’s campaign focused on education and abortion rights. But the core of his message was that Mr. Robinson, the Republican, was unfit to lead the state.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — 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.