CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As Charlotte voters prepare to elect their first new mayor in 14 years, the candidates are using every last minute to reach out to voters.

The polls opened at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and will close at 7:30 p.m. A steady trickle of people has been filing into precincts across the Queen City. At least 8,500 people already cast their votes during early voting, which ended last week.

Eyewitness News was there as Republican mayoral candidate John Lassiter and his wife voted at Providence Presbyterian Church shortly after dawn Tuesday. Democratic mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx and his wife voted at First Ward Elementary School in uptown Charlotte a short time later.

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• VIDEO: Lassiter, Foxx Make Last-Minute Push For Votes
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Lassiter then spent the day hitting precincts looking for last-minute votes, huddling with his family and, as he put it, getting his head ready for whatever happens.

“I’ve got a long day, got to visit a lot of polls, check on a lot of poll workers that are working hard for me,” he said.

Lassiter has said several times in the last few days that he feels like he and his campaign have done everything they can do.

“The time you get a little nervous is the time when the work's done. You're waiting for the votes to come in. You just want to see those numbers come in as quick as you can,” he said Tuesday.

Lassiter is watching the vote totals come in at the Epicenter.

If Foxx wins, he would be the first Democrat since the late ‘80s to be the mayor of Charlotte and the second black man to serve in the position.

He spent the afternoon speaking with voters out to lunch, including making a stop at Green’s Lunch on West Fourth Street. Afterwards, he criss-crossed the city, also going to as many precincts as possible and trying to reach as many voters as possible.

Foxx said he had no intention of winding down because he knows it's a tight race with Lassiter. He said he's been working on this for a year now and he's glad Election Day has finally arrived.

"It's exciting. It's exciting for the city to be choosing a new mayor. We've got a bright, sunny day and that's all we can ask for. We just put it in the hands of those who make these decisions and we believe in the wisdom of the voters, and I think we'll be alright," he said.

He is watching the vote totals come in at The Westin in uptown Charlotte.

Incumbent Mayor Pat McCrory did not seek re-election this year after serving seven terms. He is the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history.

Eyewitness News also spent Monday evening with the two candidates.

Foxx went door-to-door through Highland Creek, where he felt voters were undecided or leaning Republican. Lassiter ended his day how he started it -- making sure he had people staffing the polls and making phone calls.

A poll by Public Policy Polling released on Monday showed Lassiter with 50 percent of the vote and Foxx with 46 percent which, because of the margin of error in the poll, is a statistical tie.

• VIDEO: Eyewitness News Sits Down With Mayoral Candidate John Lassiter (R)
• VIDEO: Eyewitness News Sits Down With Mayoral Candidate Anthony Foxx (D)