North Carolina 2010 Election Results

North Carolina held its general election on November 2, 2010, deciding 170 legislative seats. Control shifted: the Senate moved from a 30-20 Democratic majority to a 31-19 Republican majority; the House moved from a 68-52 Democratic majority to a 67-52 Republican majority.

Highlights

• Republicans seized the General Assembly for the first time in more than a century, ending the Democratic trifecta. Gov. Bev Perdue (D), who was not on the ballot, would spend the rest of her term facing a Republican legislature.
• The win came at a pivotal moment. The 2010 election was the last on the 2000s maps, and the new majorities would redraw legislative and congressional districts in 2011, a power that could influence elections for the next decade. Perdue could not block the new maps, because North Carolina's governor cannot veto redistricting bills. On other bills, Senate Republicans had enough votes to override her vetoes, while House Republicans fell short of three-fifths and would need Democratic votes.
• When the session opened in January 2011, Thom Tillis (R) was elected Speaker over Joe Hackney (D), with six Democrats joining the Republicans in the vote. In the Senate, Phil Berger (R) became president pro tempore, succeeding Marc Basnight (D), who had led the chamber for 18 years.
• All 27 legislative seats that changed hands were taken from Democrats. All but one went to Republicans. The exception was House District 65, where unaffiliated Bert Jones (I) unseated Nelson Cole (D). Every one of the 20 incumbents who lost was a Democrat, several by thin margins:
  • Jim Davis (R) unseated John Snow (D) in Senate District 50 by about 160 votes.
  • Harry Warren (R) beat Lorene T. Coates (D) in House District 77 by fewer than 200 votes.
• Another 3 races finished inside two points, all Democratic holds. Rick Glazier (D) kept House District 45 by fewer than 50 votes, and Diane Parfitt (D) held House District 44 by about 110.
• Voters approved Amendment 1, which barred convicted felons from serving as county sheriff, by a wide margin.

Legislature

• House (120 seats): 68 D, 52 R before the election, 52 D, 67 R, 1 other or vacant after; control moved from Democrats to Republicans.
• Senate (50 seats): 30 D, 20 R before the election, 19 D, 31 R after; control moved from Democrats to Republicans.

Legislative races

Ballot measures