Incumbent state Sen. Norm Sanderson of Pamlico County will represent the Republican Party on the fall ballot after defeating fellow incumbent state Sen. Bob Steinburg of Edenton. Sanderson won 56% of the vote to Steinburg’s 44%.
The new Senate District 1 includes large portions of coastal North Carolina, including Dare, Hyde, Pamlico, and Carteret counties. Redrawn maps put Steinburg and Sanderson in the same district, a so-called “double bunking” scenario.
Steinburg served three terms in the House before winning a Senate seat in the 2018 election, while Sanderson has served five terms in the Senate, since 2013. Steinburg chairs the Senate Select Committee on Prison Safety and has been a key player in moving prison reforms through in recent years. Sanderson is chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate District 1 is 10+ in favor of Republicans on the Civitas Partisan Index, suggesting Sanderson will go on to victory in the general election this fall.