With 162 out of 167 precincts reporting Tuesday night, McCrory had captured 61 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Democratic state Rep. Beverly Earle, according to early, unofficial totals.

McCrory worked to attract big banks to Charlotte's uptown district as The Queen City grew into the nation's 20th largest, and he helped draft plans for it to grow even bigger.

He attributed his success Tuesday night to "a combination of both leadership and vision."

"The first quality that people look for is a leader. What people are looking for is someone who is leading and has a vision for the future," he said.

Earle accused McCrory during the campaign of neglecting other neighborhoods in Charlotte during the bank boom and left the city with a lack of affordable housing.

McCrory denied it, saying Charlotte has transformed its public housing projects. He also noted the 25-year transportation and land-use plan that laid out corridors the city plans to develop.

"Our biggest challenge is dealing with growing pains, but I would rather have growing pains than dying pains," he said Tuesday night. Earle did not return several messages from The Associated Press in the days leading up to the election.