The 2022 North Carolina general midterm elections saw narrow margins of victory and complete flips in party control.
Democrats and Republicans battled for U.S. Senate and House seats and competed for N.C. General Assembly, N.C. Supreme and Appellate Court majorities.
North Carolinians elected U.S. Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C. 13th) to serve as the state's next U.S. Senator by over 130,000 votes. Budd will join Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), whose term expires in January 2027, in the chamber.
In the U.S. House races, Republicans and Democrats split the seats 7-7. After the 2020 U.S. Census showed population growth in the state, North Carolina was apportioned an extra seat in the House, bringing the number of total seats from 13 to 14.
District 1 and 13 saw pivotal outcomes, with N.C. Sen. Wiley Nickel (D-Wake) winning what was considered the state's only ‘swing seat’ after court-ordered redistricting changed the map of District 13. Nickel will be the first Democrat to occupy the seat since 2012.
In District 1, N.C. Sen. Don Davis (D-Greene, Pitt) defeated Republican Sandy Smith by over four percent of the vote. The redrawn district encompasses Elizabeth City and Columbia, leaving out Goldsboro, which was previously included.
In District 4, which includes Orange County, N.C. Sen. Valerie Foushee (D-Chatham, Orange) defeated Republican candidate Courtney Geels.
Chris Cooper, professor of political science at Western Carolina University, said N.C. Republicans claimed their two biggest prizes in the U.S. Senate and two N.C. Supreme Court victories.
Judges Richard Dietz and Trey Allen won their respective races for seats 3 and 5, allowing Republicans to take a 5-2 majority on the state's highest court.