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Republican Bill Cook has claimed victory in the race to represent District 1 in the state Senate after a recount gave him an 18 vote lead over incumbent Democrat Stan White.

According to results released by the state Board of Elections, 43,733 votes were cast for Cook and 43,715 for White. The race was the closest in the state this election cycle.

"The votes have been counted and recounted," Cook said. "I have won again.  I see no point in my opponent attempting to continue this race and I call on him to concede the contest."

Republican Bill Cook is claiming victory over Democrat Stan White in the race to represenate state Senate District 1.

White had a narrow lead after unofficial results were released on Election Day, but after county election boards counted provisional ballots on Friday, Cook edged ahead by 32 votes.

That's enough for Cook to take a victory lap and call for an end to the race.

"The voters have spoken, and every vote has been counted," Cook said. "I call on my opponent to concede the race and save the cash-strapped counties the expense of a cumbersome recount. It serves no purpose to keep the voters in limbo about their new representation in the Senate."

White is well within the margin required for a candidate to request a recount, and he may do so yet.

Emotions are running high a week after Election Day, as there is still no clear winner in the race to decide the next lieutenant governor of North Carolina.

Republican Dan Forest, who holds a narrow advantage of 11,103 votes out of the 4.3 million-plus already counted, sent emails asking supporters for cash and suggesting an early lead established in unofficial results could be "stolen from us by the unions."

The claim hinges on the counting of provisional ballots – ones cast by voters whose eligibility is in question, often because they lacked ID when registering to vote and on Election Day – but has been batted away as illegitimate by Forest's Democratic opponent, Linda Coleman.