North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein defeated scandal-plagued Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in the state’s gubernatorial race, NBC News projects, keeping the seat in Democrats’ hands.Stein had been the clear favorite to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov.

Democratic state Attorney General Josh Stein will win North Carolina’s gubernatorial race, CNN projects, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whose campaign struggled as his history of incendiary remarks became public.

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.