As even those living under rocks now know, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton suffered a stunning defeat in last night's presidential election to Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Clinton, who lost the election despite winning the popular vote, put off the usual Tuesday night concession speech until just before noon this morning. She apologized to her followers for not winning the election and spoke emotionally to the girls who had looked to her to break "the highest and hardest glass ceiling" in becoming the first female president of the United States.

"And to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and to achieve your own dreams," Clinton said.

She also urged her followers to support a peaceful transfer of power, stating that Trump deserves "an open mind and a chance to lead," adding that she hopes he will be a "successful president for all Americans," an idea many see as doubtful following a divisive campaign during which Trump denigrated America's immigrant community and proposed nationalizing New York City's abhorred "stop-and-frisk" policy as a way to "help" the Black community.

"Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power and we don't just respect that, we cherish it," Clinton said. "It also enshrines other things: the rule of law, the principle that we are equal in rights and dignity, freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values too and we must defend them."

There was brighter news for progressives in North Carolina, however, as a number of Democrats took crucial spots in the state government, including Roy Cooper winning the governorship from Pat McCrory and democrat Josh Stein taking Cooper's spot as the state's attorney general.

Cooper looks to have squeezed by McCrory by less than 5,000 votes, as he declared victory early this morning. At around 1:30 p.m., he released a statement that read, "This has been an extremely hard fought race, but the people of North Carolina have spoken and they have chosen a change in leadership. We are confident once the results are certified we will confirm tonight's victory."

McCrory, on the other hand, is not quite ready to concede. In a speech to supporters in Raleigh last night, McCrory said he still plans to serve a second term as governor.

“We’re going to fight for every vote between now and November 18,” McCrory said, referring to a canvass planned for that time. “We’re going to check everything and we’re going to make sure that every vote counts."

At 8 a.m. this morning, McCrory's official Twitter account tweeted, "The votes have been cast, but many have yet to be counted. Respect the process."

UPDATE: This afternoon, the North Carolina State Board of Elections released a document outlining its process in a gubernatorial race as close as the one that occurred last night. You can view that release here.

Cooper's campaign released a statement this afternoon pointing to Cooper's lead of 4,980 votes and stating that Cooper would spend the coming weeks "laying out an agenda for moving North Carolina forward."

While Cooper's apparent victory is great news to those who found fault with McCrory's many missteps — his gutting of the state's film industry, his handling of coal ash issues, his support for House Bills 2 and 972, his signing of the I-77 toll lanes contract and his involvement in the NC GOP's voter suppression tactics — it will still be a tough road to get much done for the new governor, as the state legislature held on to its supermajority, meaning they'll be able to override a Cooper veto.

In another crucial state race, Mike Morgan defeated Bob Edmunds by nearly nine percentage points for his seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court, flipping the court to a Democratic majority. You can search for the official results of any of the state's races here.