Pardon Our Dust
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Across North Carolina, all eyes were on the results of the General Assembly elections. Democrats made significant gains across the state and broke Republican veto-proof supermajority in the House and the Senate. Before the elections, Republicans held a supermajority with 75 out of 120 House seats and 34 out of 50 Senate seats. Barring any potential recounts and the tallying of absentee ballots, Democrats will hold 54 House seats while Republicans will hold 66 House seats. In the Senate, Democrats will hold 21 seats while Republicans will hold 29 seats.
A number of races are undecided and a candidate may request a recount if their race is within the 1% margin. Provisional and absentee ballots that were postmarked by Election Day must be counted before races are final. The state canvass to certify elections will wrap up November 27th. Once the canvass is completed, candidates will have one business day to request a recount. Preliminary results shows that Democrats succeeded in their bid eliminated the Republicans’ veto-proof majority.
In the House, Democrats were able to upset key Republican incumbents in several highly contested seats. For instance, Republicans lost three key seats in Wake County. Rep. Nelson Dollar. the chief budget writer in the House lost his re-election to newcomer Julie von Haefen. Rep. Chris Malone lost to Terence Everitt, and recently-appointed John Adcock lost in a tightly contested race to Sydney Batch. Meaning there will be no Republican representing Wake County, the second largest county in North Carolina, in the House.
Rep. Bill Brawley (R-Mecklenburg) holds a narrow 52 vote lead in a hotly contested election against former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt’s daughter, Rachel Hunt. Candidate Hunt became the first Mecklenburg County candidate to raise over $1 million for a state House seat. Most observers expect Hunt to call for a recount.
Republicans also faced key defeats in rural mountain districts. Rep. Jonathan Jordan (R-Ashe) and Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain) both lost their races. House Democrats Rep. Bobbie Richardson, (D-Franklin), and Rep. George Graham, (D-Lenoir) both unexpectedly lost their re-election bids to Republicans Lisa Stone Barnes and Chris Humphrey, respectively.
In the Senate, Senators Tamara Barringer (R- Wake), Jeff Tarte (R- Mecklenburg), Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), Trudy Wade (R- Guilford), and Wesley Meredith (R- Cumberland) all faced narrow defeat. Those races could possibly be subject to a recount. Senator John Alexander (R-Wake) and Senator Dan Bishop (R-Mecklenburg) both managed to fend off their opponents to win re-election bids in seats that Democrats had high hopes of flipping.
Although Democrats hoped to gain more seats, they faced an uphill battle against established Republican incumbents in both urban and rural parts of the state. The results of this election will now challenge both parties to work with each other and the Governor.
Later this month, in the fourth special session of this interim, Republicans will work on clarifying laws to accompany the passed Constitutional Amendments as well as any other legislation they see fit to pass before they lose their veto-proof supermajority.
McGuireWoods Consulting has published an interactive state by state analysis of each race that you can view here.
Constitutional Amendments
Voters elected to pass four of the six Constitutional Amendments that were placed on the ballot this Election Day. During the upcoming special session on November 27, the General Assembly will craft any necessary accompanying language for these amendments:
- Senate Bill 677: Protect Right to Hunt and Fish
- House Bill 1092: Constitutional Amendment – Require Photo ID to Vote
- House Bill 551: Strengthening Victims’ Rights
- Senate Bill 75: Constitutional Amendment – Max. Income Tax Rate of 7.0%
Voters turned down the other two Constitutional Amendments, with over 60% voting against the following:
- Senate Bill 814: Judicial Vacancy Sunshine Amendment
- House Bill 913: Bipartisan Ethics and Elections Enforcement
You can view a detailed list of Constitutional Amendment results here.
Chart Source: ABC 11
N.C. House Races
In the House, Democrats upset key Republican incumbents in several highly contested seats. Key GOP seats were lost in both Mecklenburg and Wake counties, the first and second largest counties in the state, respectively. Rep. Nelson Dollar, the chief budget writer in the House, lost his bid for reelection to newcomer Julie von Haefen. Rep. Chris Malone lost to Terence Everitt, and recently-appointed John Adcock lost in a highly contested race to Sydney Batch. Flipping these three seats means there will be no Republican representation in Wake County in the House.
Rep. Bill Brawley (R-Mecklenburg) holds a narrow 52 vote lead in a hotly contested election against former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt’s daughter, Rachel Hunt. Hunt became the first Mecklenburg County candidate to raise over $1 million for a state House seat. Most observers expect Hunt to call for a recount.
Republicans also suffered defeats in rural mountain districts. Rep. Jonathan Jordan (R-Ashe) and Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain) both lost their races. House Democrats Rep. Bobbie Richardson (D-Franklin), and Rep. George Graham (D-Lenoir) both unexpectedly lost their reelection bids to Republicans Lisa Stone Barnes and Chris Humphrey, respectively.
Incumbents who lost:
- Rep. Bobbie Richardson (D-Franklin) lost to Lisa Stone Barnes (R) in NC House District 7
- Rep. George Graham (D) lost to Chris Humphrey (R) in NC House District 12
- Rep. Chris Malone (R) lost to Terrence Everitt (R) in NC House District 35
- Rep. Nelson Dollar (R) lost to Julie von Haefen (D) in NC House District 36
- Rep. Jonathan Jordan (R) lost to Ray Russell (D) in NC House District 93
- Rep. John Bradford (R) lost to Christy Clark (D) in NC House District 98
- Rep. Andy Dulin (R) lost to Brandon Lofton (D) in NC House District 104
- Rep. Scott Stone (R) lost to Wesley Harris (D) in NC House District 105
- Rep. Mike Clampitt (R) lost to former state Representative and Senator Joe Sam Queen (D) in NC House District 119
New Faces:
- District 1 – Edward Goodwin (R)
- District 6 – Bobby Hanig (R)
- District 7 – Lisa Stone Barnes (R)
- District 8 – Kadie Smith (D)
- District 11 – Allison Dahle (D)
- District 12 – Chris Humphrey (R)
- District 16 – Carson Smith (R)
- District 21 – Raymond Smith (D)
- District 25 – James Gailliard (D)
- District 31 – Zack Forde-Hawkins (D)
- District 35 – Terence Everett (D)
- District 36 – Julie con Haefen (D)
- District 37 – Sydney Batch (D)
- District 57 – Ashton Clemmons (D)
- District 65 – Jerry Carter (R)
- District 67 – Wayne Sasser (R)
- District 72 – Derwin Montgomery (D)
- District 79 – Keith Kidwell (R)
- District 80 – Steve Jarvis (R)
- District 93 – Ray Russell (D)
- District 98 – Christy Clark (D) *** subject to recount
- District 99 – Nasif Majeed (D)
- District 101 – Carolyn Logan (D)
- District 104 – Brandon Loftin (D)
- District 105 – Wesley Harris (D)
You can view a detailed list of House Election results here.
Chart Source: ABC 11
N.C. Senate Races
In the Senate, Senators Tamara Barringer (R-Wake), Jeff Tarte (R-Mecklenburg), Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), Trudy Wade (R-Guilford), and Wesley Meredith (R-Cumberland) all faced narrow defeat. Those races could possibly be subject to recounts. Senator John Alexander (R-Wake) and Senator Dan Bishop (R-Mecklenburg) both managed to fend off their opponents to win reelection bids in seats that Democrats had high hopes of flipping.
Although Democrats hoped to gain more seats, they faced an uphill battle against established Republican incumbents in both urban and rural parts of the state. The results of this election will now challenge both parties to work with each other and the Governor.
Incumbents who lost:
- Sen. Michael Lee (R) lost to Harper Peterson (D) in NC Senate District 9
- Sen. Tamara Barringer (R) lost to Sam Searcy (D) in NC Senate District 17
- Sen. Wesley Meredith (R) lost to Kirk DeViere (D) in NC Senate District 19
- Sen. Trudy Wade (R) lost to Michael Garrett (D) in NC Senate District 27
- Sen. Jeff Tarte (R) lost to Natasha Marcus (D) in NC Senate District 41
New Faces:
- District 4 – Toby Fitch (D)
- District 9 – Harper Peterson (D) *** subject to recount
- District 12 – Jim Burgin (R)
- District 16 – Wiley Nickel (D)
- District 17 – Sam Searcy (D)
- District 19 – Kirk DeViere (D) *** subject to recount
- District 27 – Michael Garrett (D) *** subject to recount
- District 29 – Eddie Gallimore (R)
- District 34 – Vickie Sawyer (R)
- District 35 – Todd Johnson (R)
- District 38 – Mujtaba Mohammed (D)
- District 41 – Natasha Marcus (D)
- District 44 – Ted Alexander (R)
You can view a detailed list of Senate Election results here.
Chart Source: ABC 11
N.C. Judicial Races
Democrats were able to flip three Court of Appeals races. On the Supreme Court, Republican incumbent Barbara Jackson lost to Democrat Anita Earls which increased the Democrat hold on the court. The Democratic majority shifted from 4-3 to 5-2.
Supreme Court:
- Christopher Anglin (R): 16.44 percent
- Anita Earls (D): 49.56 percent (Winner)
- Barbara Jackson (R)*: 33.99 percent
Court of Appeals Seat 1:
- John Arrowood (D)*: 50.73 percent (Winner)
- Andrew Heath (R): 49.27 percent
Court of Appeals Seat 2:
- Jefferson Griffin (R): 35.69 percent
- Toby Hampson (D): 48.81 percent (Winner)
- Sandra Ray (R): 15.51 percent
Court of Appeals Seat 3:
- Allegra Katherine Collins (D): 48.59 percent (Winner)
- Chuck Kitchen (R): 46.90 percent
- Michael Monaco (L): 4.50 percent
You can view a detailed list of Judicial Election results here.
Chart Source: ABC 11