Democrats will take a majority in the state House for the first time since 2010, but have fallen short of a majority in the state Senate even as several Republicans there lost.
Democrats picked up four seats in the state Senate and flipped more than 16 Republican-held districts in the House; the exact number of flipped seats could remain unclear in the coming days because multiple races could go to a recount. In six districts, the Democratic candidate (or in one case, a left-leaning unaffiliated candidate) had a narrow lead in unofficial returns at the end of election night.
A divided legislature could create gridlock in state politics next year, but it’s a big power shift for Democrats, who struggled to uphold Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes for the past two years.
In the Senate, Sens. Lisa Barnes, R-Nash, Sen. Buck Newton, R-Wilson, and Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, lost their reelection, while Sen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson, held a narrow lead over his challenger. Democrat April Cook won a GOP-held open seat in Cabarrus County. But Democrats needed to pick up five seats for a Senate majority. Lee's defeat will impact the race to replace Phil Berger as Senate leader, because Lee had been a leader contender for the role.
In the House, Democrats won at least 16 seats held by Republicans. Among the Republican House incumbents who lost their reelection, according to preliminary election results where all precincts have reported:
- Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash
- Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake
- Rep. Erin Paré, R-Wake
- Rep. Donna White, R-Johnston
- Rep. Brian Echevarria, R-Cabarrus
- Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth and a lead budget writer
- Rep. Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth
- Rep. Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg
- Rep. Jonathan Almond, R-Cabarrus
- Rep. Anna Ferguson, R-Swain
- Rep. Dennis Riddell, R-Alamance
- Rep. Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland
“Oh my God, I don’t know what to say,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said at a campaign event, after being introduced as the next House speaker.
Close races that could face recounts were in Pitt County (Republican Rep. Tim Reeder trails Democrat Claire Kempner), New Hanover County, Alamance County and Watauga County. One of those races — in Guilford County — involves Democrat Shelly Headen, who party leaders rebuked over social media posts. She leads Republican Rep. John Blust by just 233 votes.
Around 1 a.m., current House Speaker Destin Hall congratulated Reives on the victory in a news release.
"All across the country during this election cycle, Republicans faced the worst political environment of our lifetimes," Hall said. "I’m proud of the hard work of House Republican members and candidates all across our state who fought against insurmountable odds. Tonight’s results in North Carolina are disappointing for many across our state. But tomorrow we must pick ourselves up and continue to work for conservative policies that made our state successful."
Democrats viewed Tuesday’s election as their best shot in years to take back control of at least one chamber in the state legislature. They viewed high early voting turnout and former Gov. Roy Cooper’s sizable polling lead in the U.S. Senate race as an indication that some Republican-leaning House and Senate districts could flip.
Democrats needed to gain at least one seat to break the GOP's veto-proof majority in the Senate, and a net gain of five seats to take control of the chamber. In the House, Democrats needed to flip about a dozen seats held by Republicans to get a majority.
For the past two years, House Republicans have been one seat short of a supermajority, but they’ve been able to override vetoes by getting another legislator to cross party lines or skip a vote. The three legislators who most often helped override vetoes were defeated in Democratic primaries in March; two later became unaffiliated and all will leave office at the end of the year.
Republicans have held legislative majorities since the 2010 election, when the Tea Party’s conservative wave helped them gain power ahead of redistricting. They’ve since used partisan gerrymandering to help protect their majorities even in years where Democrats won victories in statewide races.
Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker Destin Hall was optimistic about his party’s chances going into election night, telling a reporter at a polling place that “I’m confident that we’re going to maintain the majority.
“We just simply have better candidates in every one of those races,” he told State Affairs reporter Avi Bajpai, according to a video posted on X.
