North Carolina Democrats pull off historic House takeover
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Democrats will take control of the North Carolina House for the first time since 2010, AP projects.
Why it matters: One race remains uncalled in the Senate. Split control of the legislature could lead to two years of gridlock after 16 years of Republican dominance in the General Assembly.
The latest: Several races are within recount margins, so the exact number of seats each party holds is not yet clear, despite 100% of precincts reporting.
- Republicans have 25 seats in the Senate and Democrats have 24, according to the Associated Press.
- The uncalled Senate race — District 10 — had a margin of 268 votes on election night, according to unofficial results reported by the State Board of Elections.
The big picture: Democrats' gains in the midterms follow years of struggle against a Republican supermajority amid several high-profile party defections.
What they're saying: Reelected Democratic House leader Robert Reives told supporters election night he has "never been so proud."
Zoom in: Democrats had the biggest successes in these areas:
- Suburban Wake County: Republican Reps. Mike Schietzelt and Erin Paré both lost by over 9 percentage points.
- Triangle outskirts: Republicans dropped state House and Senate races in Nash County, future U.S. Sen. Roy Cooper's home county. They also lost in Wilson, Johnston and Franklin counties.
- Charlotte and its suburbs: Rep. Tricia Cotham, who left the Democratic Party in 2023 to become a Republican, lost by over 14 percentage points. Democrats also picked up House seats in Gaston and Cabarrus counties.
- Wilmington: Sen. Michael Lee had been Republican majority leader, but will lose his competitively drawn Wilmington seat, AP projects.
- Piedmont suburbs: Democrats made gains in Forsyth, Guilford and Alamance counties.
- Mountain country: Congressional candidate Jennifer Balkcom's former N.C. House seat went to a Democrat, as did another Blue Ridge seat.
Flashback: Republicans took control in Raleigh in 2010 amid a national red wave.
- Since then, they have enacted conservative tax policies, rewritten rules on everything from educational spending to abortion, and strengthened their control by redrawing electoral maps to favor Republicans.
👀 What we're watching: Republican leaders have said the legislature will return for a lame-duck session this month, when they could seek to advance legislation before Democrats take control of the House.
Editor's notes: This is a developing story and will be updated.