RALEIGH – Democrats were ahead for control of the North Carolina House in unofficial returns Wednesday morning, while Republicans led enough state Senate races for a narrow majority but not a party-line veto-override threshold with every seat voting.
An NC Political News review of the State Board of Elections’ downloadable precinct results found Democratic candidates leading in 71 of the House’s 120 districts, Republicans in 48 and an unaffiliated candidate in one. In the 50-seat Senate, Republicans led in 26 districts and Democrats in 24.
Those figures count the leading candidate in each district, not certified winners. They were calculated from the state’s Nov. 3 results file retrieved Wednesday morning, by adding each candidate’s precinct-level total votes within the same legislative contest. Close races and later ballot processing could change individual outcomes.
NC Newsline independently reported that Democrats appeared to have won the House majority and had ended Republicans’ veto-proof Senate majority. Its account described multiple Democratic gains, including races in Mecklenburg, Wake and western North Carolina.
The state file showed Democrat Ken McCool ahead of Republican Tricia Cotham in House District 105, 24,608 votes to 18,479. Democrat Lynne Russo led Republican Chelsea Walsh in House District 117, 22,710 to 21,180.
In Senate District 7, Democrat Jessica Bichler led Republican Michael Lee, 48,310 to 43,469. These are unofficial totals from the retrieved file, rather than independent race calls.
The state constitution assigns legislative power to the House and Senate and provides that new terms begin Jan. 1 after the election. The House elects its speaker, so an election-night introduction or party announcement is not the formal selection of that officer.
Majority control and veto power are different measures. For bills subject to the governor’s veto, the constitution requires three-fifths of members present and voting in each chamber to override. With all 50 senators voting, that means 30 votes, not the 26 seats in which Republicans led in this snapshot.
The count therefore points toward divided partisan control of the legislature, while leaving certification and individual close contests unresolved.
Sources
- NCSBE: Nov. 3 precinct results ZIP
- NC Newsline: Legislative election report, Nov. 4
- North Carolina Constitution: Article II
Photo Credit: Jmturner, via Wikimedia Commons. North Carolina Legislative Building in Raleigh, photographed March 21, 2008; public domain. Cropped and resized; file photo, not an election-night scene.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.