A Huntersville precinct almost exactly mirrored the statewide election results
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
In a section of the growing Huntersville area, it wouldn't have been unusual to see signs for both President-elect Donald Trump, a Republican, and N.C. Governor-elect Josh Stein, a Democrat, on the same lawn around this time last month.
Why it matters: Precinct 133 almost exactly mirrored North Carolina's latest statewide election results. What happened in the area may explain why the state continues to ticket split, delivering the state to Republican presidents and Democratic governors.
- Like North Carolina overall, it's a place with concentrated fast growth and shifting demographics. Huntersville leans red, but it's swayable.
Between the lines: Precinct 133 is east of 1-77, bisected by Sam Furr Road. It's home to the Northcross Shopping Center, where you'll find recognizable chains like Home Goods, Target and Panda Express.
- The busy suburban precinct borders blue areas but is still outer Mecklenburg County, where the larger population of Republicans reside.
In Precinct 133, 50% of voters voted for Trump to win the presidency, compared to the state's 51%.
- Down ballot, voters went more for Democrats in the high-profile races. Fifty-seven percent of voters supported Josh Stein as governor (compared to 55% statewide).
- Fifty-two percent backed a local Congressman, Jeff Jackson, in his run for attorney general (51% statewide).
- As was the case statewide, voters in 133 favored Republicans for the labor commissioner, insurance commissioner, state treasurer and auditor offices, showing they were willing to ticket split.
State of play: According to county data, 43% of registered voters in Precinct 133 are unaffiliated, 33% are Republicans, and 23% are Democrats. The population is 80% white.
- In the 2023 municipal election, the Huntersville town government flipped from red to completely blue.
What they're saying: Christine Somers, an area coordinator for the Democrats in Huntersville, said the party's strategy was to ask voters to look at candidates individually.
- "I think it can be empirically proved: The Democratic Party in North Carolina just ran better candidates," Somers adds. "Look at Josh Stein against Mark Robinson."
- The party decided to spend energy on local races that would have the most impact under a Trump presidency, Somers says, presuming if he won he'd leave more issues up to the states.
- The Democrats worked to highlight two specific races: Beth Helfrich's run for the state House to break the GOP's supermajority and Mo Green for state superintendent, Somers says. Education is a top issue for the family-centric town of Huntersville, she adds.
- Both candidates won, but Green's opponent Michele Morrow had a 59-vote lead in Precinct 133.
- As for House District 98, Helfrich defeated the Republican, former Huntersville mayor Melinda Bales, in one of the state's most competitive legislative races. However, in 133, Bales had 50 votes over Helfrich.
The other side: The Republican Party also focused on unaffiliated voters in this area by staffing sites with poll greeters.
- Lorena Castillo-Ritz, chair of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party, says the GOP could take back the town government in the next municipal election by deploying similar strategies.
- "We had a well-oiled machine this year," Castillo-Ritz says. "We got 179,000 [votes] for Trump in 2020, and this time we're at 187 so far. We had basically an 8,000 vote gain, where the Democrats had $2 million [in fundraising] and didn't move the needle."