President-elect Donald Trump’s comfortable victory in North Carolina saw the Republican pick up slightly more counties than he did in the past two cycles.
In Western North Carolina, every county but Buncombe went for Trump.
Although the state broke early voting records, turnout was slightly down in North Carolina compared to the 2020 election.
In Western North Carolina counties, 2024 turnout was up by 2 percentage points compared to 2020, in the “Helene 13” (the 13 counties designated as most impacted by the storm by the NC BOE).
Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards – who won re-election with 57% of the vote – said that the high turnout in the region was a sign of Trump’s road to victory before the race was called.
“It’s an illustration of just how concerned Republicans are, how concerned everyone is with the direction of our country over the last four years. Many folks were counting us out here in Western North Carolina,” Edwards said.
In the whole Western North Carolina region, turnout exceeded the rest of the state by about 1.5 percentage points compared to 2020. In 2020, WNC was about 1 percentage point higher than the rest of the state.
In 2020, 75.35% of registered voters in North Carolina turned out to vote. This year, 73% voted.
The region has a majority of unaffiliated voters and continues to be a Republican stronghold, but voters in some counties showed signs of change.
North Carolina political expert Dr. Chris Cooper says that the state is still purple.
Cooper explained in his new book, “Anatomy of a Purple State,” that the state holds a mix of blue urban areas and rural reds because of its history as a Southern Democratic stronghold, its influx of new voters and its strong rural character.
North Carolina is the second most rural state in the county, after Texas, Cooper explained.
The number of unaffiliated voters who cast their ballot for each candidate isn’t available yet but exit polling by the National Exit poll collaborative shows that unaffiliated voters in North Carolina evenly split their vote between Democrats and Republicans.
In Jackson County, where 54% of the county voted for Trump, unaffiliated voter Kellie Brewer stated that support from the federal government for the region, including support after Helene, was part of her choice on voting.
“So when we need someone that will work for us, not keep giving money away ... I mean especially with these disasters that happen. They give billions of dollars to other countries, but yet you only get like millions to help the people here. That's not right,” Brewer said.
Thus far, the Biden Administration has approved over $2.6 billion in federal assistance for those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. In North Carolina, this includes over $203 million in survivor assistance.
Edwards promised on election night to continue rallying for federal support after Helene in WNC.
“Western North Carolina needs help from America. And my feet are going to be planted firmly on the House floor demanding that it is our turn to be recognized and that we need to be rebuilt,” Edwards said.
Turnout in Blue Counties
Despite Republican wins across Western North Carolina, traditionally Democratic counties continued to hold state House and Senate seats.
When the lines around Buncombe County's N.C. House District 115 were redrawn in 2023, Democratic incumbent Lindsey Prather was not expected to win re-election.
Prather has overcome the odds - posting a narrow win by less than 1,500 votes on Tuesday.
“It was almost like running for a new seat just because so many people didn’t know me, I wasn’t on their ballot [before], so it was a lot similar to the first time I ran. Introducing myself to people and making sure they knew about my issues,” Prather told BPR on election night.
This race and others across the state will give Governor-elect Josh Stein the ability to veto.
In the Senate, Republicans held onto their majority but in the House, Democrats won one crucial seat that staved off a supermajority for the party.
“It appears that by the narrowest of narrow majorities with a one-seat difference between having just the majority for the Republicans and the supermajority. So Stein's veto will still mean something,” Cooper said.
Cooper explains that if Stein can keep all the Democrats voting with him in the General Assembly, then he will be able to veto Republican bills.
“It means that we're not going to see a lot of legislation probably come out of the General Assembly,” Cooper said.
Cooper looked at the percentage of voters in all 100 counties who voted for Trump compared to 2016 and 2020. He says there was an interesting movement away from Trump — despite his win — when you look at which counties had the most change.
“Which ones moved the most away from Trump? Over the last cycle, the answer is Buncombe County, Henderson County, and Transylvania County. Three Western North Carolina counties. And so, there is some interesting action happening behind the scenes, and below the red, and the blue that you tend to see on the map,” Cooper said.
The current results of the election are still unofficial. There were 64,612 provisional ballots cast across the state that are still being considered by each county board of elections. The counties will finalize the election on November 15 during county canvass. State results will be finalized during the state canvass on November 26.
Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report.
