Republicans Retain Majority in NC General Assembly

RALEIGH – The political dynamics within the State of North Carolina, with a partisan split between a Republican legislature and Democrat governor, will continue. Republicans retained control of the General Assembly, with majorities intact in both the N.C. House and N.C. Senate.

“For the sixth consecutive election, voters made a clear choice in support of the Republican platform of low taxes, expanded school choice, and large investments in education and teacher pay. The Senate Republican majority will continue to deliver on those promises,” said Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham)

Speaker of the N.C. House Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), who easily won his race for reelection, said in a statement, “Voters returning a strong Republican majority to the North Carolina House of Representatives tonight reflects the powerful momentum behind policies that promote economic prosperity, educational achievement, and safety for families, which were put in place by the General Assembly over the last decade.”

There weren’t too many surprises on the night, but there was some movement.

Rep. Stephen Ross (R) lost the Alamance County seat to Democrat Ricky Hurtado by just a few hundred votes.

But there were a couple pick ups, as well. Republican Erin Pare unseated Democrat N.C. House Rep. Sydney Batch in a district covering south Wake County, reclaiming the seat after the 2018 ‘Blue Wave.’ Batch, though having a low profile, was an ultra-progressive Democrat that fits right in to the current character of the Left, and it’s a good thing for a relatively red part of southern Wake County that she is gone.

Republican Diane Wheatley also claimed a new seat for Republicans in District 43, defeating her Democratic opponent and thus replacing current Democrat incumbent Elmer Floyd.

While many races are still ‘too close to call,’ being that 100,000+ absentee votes are still outstanding, but no matter; Republicans have won enough seats to reclaim majorities. Not a supermajority, however, which will become obvious over the next legislative session as the veto/override battles of the last couple of years will likely resume in 2021.

Also of note, these majorities were retained after the long and litigious battle over redistricting. That means Republicans will be in charge of redistricting in 2021, with North Carolina likely to get an additional seat in congress due to population growth.

You can explore individual results for the N.C. House and N.C. Senate here.