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North Carolina remains paused in Phase 3 until at least November 13. The state continues to see record breaking increases of reported COVID-19 cases. Governor Cooper has urged that North Carolinians remain cautious and alert as the holidays approach. Tuesday, Governor Cooper won re-election after defeating Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest in a race that was highlighted by the pandemic. Now with the elections in his rearview, it remains to be seen if Governor Cooper will choose to place the state back under tighter restrictions.
As of Thursday morning, in the state of North Carolina, there were 285,661 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, 4,214, 454 completed tests, 4,535 deaths, and 1,193 current hospitalizations. As we all continue to feel the effects of the global pandemic and adjust to a new normal, we want to highlight a few ways our clients across North Carolina have worked to support residents and make this time a little easier for those throughout the state. Read more about what our clients are doing to help by clicking here.
For more information on COVID-19 in North Carolina, click here to visit the Department of Health and Human Services website, and be sure to stay up to date on the latest federal guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by clicking here.
For full election results from North Carolina please click here to view our 2020 post-election update.
General Assembly
Tuesday, Republican General Assembly members across the state fought off a potential blue wave to maintain their majority in both chambers of the legislature. Democrats needed to flip five Senate seats and six House seats to win the majority in both chambers. Polling leading up to Election Day showed a number of districts that traditionally were Republican strongholds trending towards Democrats. This did not happen.
In the Senate, Democrats were able to win two redrawn districts, Senate District 39 (Mecklenburg) and Senate District 18 (Wake). Subsequently, Democrats lost a seat after Sen. Harper Peterson (D-New Hanover) was defeated by former Sen. Michael Lee in a rematch from 2018. Lee defeated Sen. Peterson by 1,468 votes in a district that was seen as a tossup. Republicans held onto a number of districts that were seen as tossups including, Senate District 1 (Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrell, Washington), Senate District 31 (Davie, Forsyth), Senate District 11 (Johnston, Nash), and Senate District 24 (Alamance, Guilford). Republicans now control the Senate 28-22 and will continue to have a Republican President of the Senate as Lieutenant Governor -elect Mark Robinson (R) defeated Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley (D).
In the House, Democrats lost a total of six seats while defeating Republican incumbents in House District 9 (Pitt) and House District 63 (Alamance, Guilford) two newly redrawn districts. The following House incumbents lost re-election:
House District 9 (Pitt)
Rep. Perrin Jones (R) was defeated by Brian Farkas (D) 51% to 48%.
House District 37 (Wake)
Rep. Sydney Batch (D) was defeated by Erin Pare (R) 50% to 46%.
House District 63 (Alamance)
Rep. Stephen Ross (R) was defeated by Ricky Hurtado (D) 50% to 49%.
House District 66 (Montgomery, Richmond, Stanly)
Rep. Scott Brewer (D) was defeated by Ben Moss (R) 59% to 40%.
House District 93 (Ashe, Watauga)
Rep. Ray Russell (D) was defeated by Ray Pickett (R) 53% to 46%.
House District 98
Rep. Christy Clark (D) was defeated by former Rep. John Bradford (R) 51% to 48%.
House District 119 (Haywood, Jackson, Swain)
Rep. Joe Sam Queen was defeated by former Rep. Mike Clampitt 54% to 45%.
Republicans also picked up House District 43 (Cumberland) after Diane Wheatley defeated Kimberly Hardy (D) 52% to 42%. The district was previously held by Rep. Elmer Floyd who lost to Hardy in the March primary. House Republicans will now enjoy a 69-51 majority. Despite the gains it was not enough to achieve a veto-proof majority.
Potential Runoffs
A number of statewide races have not yet been called. In North Carolina, county Board of Elections will accept mail-in ballots received by November 12, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day. A number of Council of State Races and the race for the Chief Justice seat remain uncalled.
Attorney General
Attorney General Josh Stein (D) and his opponent Jim O’Neill (R) are currently in a dead heat. Attorney General Stein currently leads with 2,684,854 votes to O’Neill’s 2, 674,085 votes (50.10%- 49.90%).
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Catherine Truitt (R) currently leads Jen Mangrum (D) with 2,726,948 votes to 2,578,238 votes (51%-49%).
Labor Commissioner
Rep. Josh Dobson currently leads Wake County Commissioner Jessica Holmes with 2,701,336 votes to 2, 609, 502 votes (51%-49%).
NC Supreme Court Chief Justice
Chief Justice Cheri Beasley (D) currently trails her opponent Justice Paul Newby (R) with 2,667, 031 votes to 2, 670, 773 votes (50%-49%).
New Members
The North Carolina General Assembly will welcome 26 new members when the 2021 session convenes January 13. Over the next few weeks we will give you a rundown of the new members from their backgrounds to their legislative goals. The new members of the General Assembly are:
Senate
District 3 (Beaufort, Bertie, Martin, Northampton, Vance, Warren)
Ernestine (Byrd) Bazemore (D)
District 6 (Jones, Onslow)
Michael Lazzara (R)
District 9 (New Hanover)
Michael Lee (R)
District 18 (Franklin, Wake)
Sarah Crawford (D)
District 24 (Alamance, Guilford)
Amy Galey (R)
District 39 (Mecklenburg)
DeAndrea Salvador (D)
District 42 (Alexander, Catawba)
H. Dean Proctor (R)
District 49 (Buncombe)
Julie Mayfield (D)
House
District 3 (Craven)
Steve Tyson (R)
District 7 (Franklin, Nash)
Matthew Winslow (R)
District 9 (Pitt)
Brian Farkas (D)
District 19 (New Hanover)
Charlie Miller (R)
District 24 (Wilson)
Linda Cooper-Suggs (D)
District 37 (Wake)
Erin Pare (R)
District 38 (Wake)
Abe Jones (D)
District 43 (Cumberland)
Diane Wheatley (R)
District 53 (Harnett)
Howard Penny, Jr. (R)
District 63 (Alamance)
Ricky Hurtado (D)
District 66 (Montgomery, Richmond, Stanly)
Ben Moss (R)
District 68 (Union)
David Willis (R)
District 72 (Forsyth)
Amber Baker (D)
District 74 (Forsyth)
Jeff Zenger (R)
District 80 (Davidson)
Sam Watford (R)
District 85 (Iredell)
Dudley Greene (R)
District 93 (Ashe, Watauga)
Ray Pickett (R)
District 118 (Haywood, Madison, Yancey)
Mark Pless (R)
District 120 (Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon)
Karl Gillespie (R)