In District 4, Toshiba Rice won her first school board election after being appointed in February to replace Tara Waters, who left to join the county board of commissioners. Rice beat out her challengers, Michael T. Williams and Sean Callan, with a comfortable 65 percent of the vote.

Janet Cowell, a former state treasurer and longtime political player in Raleigh, will be the city's next mayor, taking over the position from outgoing Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin. Why it matters: Cowell will be tasked with guiding Raleigh through a critical period of growth that has placed stress on the city's housing prices,