RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The contest between Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest is among a few governor’s races across the country that are being closely watched in this year's election.

Cooper is banking on the support of voters who approved of his handling of the coronavirus, while Forest aims to appeal to business owners and K-12 public school parents dissatisfied with the state’s slow reopening.

The race between Cooper and Forest has attracted attention from outside groups, which have spent millions to shape voter attitudes.

Cooper took in more than $17 million between July 1 and Oct. 17, with over $11 million being given by political party committees and $281,000 coming from other political committees, according to the campaign’s latest quarterly report filed with the State Board of Elections.

Forest raised a substantially smaller $4 million during the same July 1 to Oct. 17 period. The campaign filing shows $532,000 came from political party committees and nearly $100,000 from other political committees.

Nearly 62% of the state's more than 7.3 million registered voters had cast their ballots by Monday. Democrats cast 1.7 million ballots, Republicans cast over 1.4 million ballots and nearly 1.4 million unaffiliated people voted.

Montana is expected to have the most competitive gubernatorial contest in the country. U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, is running for an open seat against Democratic Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney. Despite not having any major media markets in the state, campaigns and the parties’ governors groups spent more than $24 million on the election through September. In Missouri, Republican Gov. Mike Parson faces a strong challenge from Nicole Galloway, the state's Democratic auditor. The contest in Missouri is Democrats' best hope for flipping a governor's seat this year.

In North Carolina, Cooper has avoided the physical campaign cycle this election, instead choosing to participate in a small number of virtual gatherings. Supporters of the mild-mannered Democrat believe he’s responsibly prioritized public safety.

“I think Roy Cooper’s doing a great job,” said Ryan Commedo, a Fayetteville resident who took part in early, in-person voting. “He’s handling everything with the coronavirus and giving updates that we don’t get from the president. I think he cares about the people.”

Forest has hosted several large in-person events with little to no mask wearing or physical separation between attendees. The lieutenant governor is calling for a more aggressive reopening of businesses and schools and has vowed to immediately repeal the statewide mask mandate Cooper enacted in response to rising coronavirus cases.

“Roy Cooper wanted to shut the state down, and millions of people were out of jobs,” said Timothy LeCornu, a 59-year-old self-employed online marketer living in Raleigh who voted for Forest. “Still, even now, you can’t go shopping or to a restaurant without having to become a bank robber with a mask on. That’s crazy.”

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Find AP’s full election coverage at APNews.com/Election2020.

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Anderson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.