A Republican North Carolina judge who launched an unprecedented effort to overturn his unofficial loss in a state Supreme Court race is dropping his challenge to the results.

The Republican challenger for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat conceded last November's election on Wednesday to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs, two days after a federal judge ruled that potentially thousands of disputed ballots challenged by Jefferson Griffin must remain in the final tally.

Meeting for the first time with its new GOP majority, the North Carolina State Board of Elections agreed in a party-line vote to replace Brinson Bell with Sam Hayes, the top lawyer for the Republican House speaker. The board declined to consider her request to speak at the end of the meeting, adjourning instead.