Closely Watched Senate Race Almost Over, But Battleground Status Likely To Remain

It's Election Day, which means that – finally – the political campaign season for 2014 is winding down.

It will mark the end of the constant stream of television and online ads that have been paid for with more than $100 million for the Senate race alone.

But the next election is only two years away, and with a presidential and another senate race, expect the campaign dollars to once again flow into North Carolina. That's because big-ticket races are being won and lost here by razor-thin margins.

John Dinan, a professor of political science at Wake Forest University, says tight Senate races have been a pattern that has been going on here for more than 30 years. And don't expect that to change.

“The expectation is that we're so well perched one can expect us to continue to be a battleground and attract outside donations and energies from outside groups to support Republican and Democratic candidates,” he says.

Dinan says that the seemingly endless ads can lead to fatigue and frustration among voters, but there's also an upside to having a big-dollar, closely watched race.

“In terms of actually signaling to voters that the election is on, boosting their attention, and increasing turnout, that's what happens in a high-spending, high-focused election,” he says.

Dinan says over the last 30 years, Richard Burr's 2010 Senate win was the only N.C. Senate race decided by a double-digit margin.