NC Democrats cast twice as many early ballots as Republicans

State of play: Trump's sagging approval ratings are expected to fire up Democrats to vote, while potentially having the opposite effect on Republicans.

• Democrats are betting on North Carolina as one of four seats to capture Senate control and stymie Trump's agenda for the remainder of his presidency.
• And they're hoping enthusiasm around U.S. Senate candidate and former Gov. Roy Cooper could help them down-ballot in North Carolina races.

By the numbers: Nearly 143,000 more ballots were cast statewide through Oct. 18 than the same point in the last midterm election.

• Mecklenburg County cast 58,714 ballots, behind Wake County at 73,586.

Of those statewide ballots, registered Democrats cast twice as many as Republicans, 240,206 versus 102,845.

• 46% came from registered Democrats and 35% from unaffiliated voters.
• Republicans made up 20%.
• Around this time in 2022, the GOP proportion was closer to 30%.

Yes, and: Women are showing up more than men, accounting for 52% of total ballots cast.

• And nearly 8% of registered Black voters have turned out, up from about 5% around this time in 2022.
• That's outpacing white registered voter turnout at 7% (6% in 2022).