Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham speaks during a televised debate with Republican Sen. Thom Tillis on Thursday in Raleigh, N.C. RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s intensively competitive and expensive U.S. Senate race has been upended by personal and health disruptions that sent sharp tremors and uncertainty through the campaigns and an electorate already casting ballots. Democratic nominee Cal Cunningham acknowledged and apologized for exchanging sexually suggestive text messages with a woman who’s not his wife, but he said he won’t drop out of the race. And just a few hours earlier Friday evening, his opponent, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, announced he has tested positive for the coronavirus. The first-term senator said he has no COVID-19 symptoms, but the news forced him to cancel in-person events, and several members of his campaign staff to head into quarantine, less than five weeks before election day. “I have hurt my family, disappointed my friends, and am deeply sorry,” Cunningham said in a statement about his texts. “The first step in repairing those relationships is taking complete responsibility, which I do.” But Cunningham, who is married with two children, added that he’s not dropping out of the Senate race: “I will continue to work […]