NC election decision finally called - Obama wins

According to the News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), the Obama win in North Carolina is finally official. This morning, they were still reporting him the apparent, but still unofficial, winner of the state. This article stated:

Democrat Barack Obama is the unofficial winner in North Carolina, but the victory over Sen. John McCain won't be sealed until provisional ballots are counted and certified next month....

"Our law allows us to say who the unofficial winner is," Bartlett said, "but you know we have a formal process in which we audit records."

The county canvasses are Nov. 14, and the state is scheduled to certify the results Dec. 1.

But this afternoon, they have updated with this article:

The Associated Press declared Obama the winner after canvassing counties in North Carolina to determine the number of outstanding provisional ballots. That survey found that there are not enough remaining ballots for Republican John McCain to close a 13,693-vote deficit.

For those keeping track, this means there is a small tenth of a percentage point difference between the two - rounding to 50% Obama, 50% McCain. Although we aren't deciding the election, we're nearly the Florida of 2000.

So much of this election has historic meaning, but for North Carolina it is also significant because the state has not voted for a Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976. Durham County voted nearly 76% for Obama, a huge margin and by far the biggest in the state. Other surprises were rural counties such as Jackson, Chatham, and Pitt County tipped to Obama.