Who Won North Carolina: Romney Wins, Republicans Make Huge Gains Across State

Impact

At 11:18 pm on election night, CNN called the election for President Barack Obama.  Nationally, the Democrats held control of the Senate, in addition to holding on to the White House. However, all was not well for the Democrats. Mitt Romney turned North Carolina red again, capping off a huge night for Republicans in North Carolina.

Four years ago, Obama won North Carolina by 14,000 votes. This was a hard fought battleground state once again, with outside money pouring in even down to the Judge races.  The ads have been unbearable the last few weeks, as Election Day drew near. That outside money paid dividends for Republicans. They also won the Governor, 9 congressional seats, and possibly the Lieutenant Governor.

They also maintained control of the State House and Senate, which is very important. They now have control of all levels of state government and will push their agenda. This could have a major impact on the state. There could be major changes to the tax code and rollbacks to predatory lending projections. Voter ID is almost certain to pass now, as will changes to the pay structure for teachers.

Republicans have had control of the State House and Senate since the 2010 midterm elections, and have tried to push all of these agenda items. Now that there is not a Democratic governor to use a veto pen, the state could look significantly different before the 2014 election season.  So while Obama won the White House, the Republican Party has made great gains in North Carolina.

For real-time coverage of the North Carolina results, including numbers and analysis, see here.