Naturally.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Republican state House Speaker Thom Tillis was elected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday not because North Carolinians support his policies but because of changes to state voting laws that affected who cast ballots, the NAACP said Thursday.

Tillis defeated Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan 49 to 47 percent, or about 48,500 votes out of almost 2.9 million votes cast statewide, according to unofficial results.

Putting his own spin on the election results that saw gains for conservative candidates throughout much of the nation, state NAACP President Rev. William Barber said Tillis’ “narrow victory” was a repudiation of his policies, not a validation of them.

Barber said there were widespread reports of voting problems – the State Board of Elections said the election ran rather smoothly – and the shortened early-voting period and the elimination of same-day registration affected thousands of North Carolina voters.

“The magnitude of the problem may not be far from the margin of victory (for Tillis),” he said.

The NAACP planned to send letters to Tillis and Gov. Pat McCrory later in the day, asking them for a sit-down meeting to discuss backing off “extremist policies” and becoming more inclusive in their governing.