North Carolina Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
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| Chairwoman | Anderson Clayton |
| Governor | Josh Stein |
| Lieutenant Governor | Rachel Hunt |
| Senate Leader | Sydney Batch |
| House Leader | Robert Reives |
| Founded | 1828 |
| Headquarters | 220 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27603[1] |
| Membership(2025) |  2,310,608[2] |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| Council of State | 5 / 10 |
| Seats in theNorth Carolina Senate | 20 / 50 |
| Seats in theNorth Carolina House of Representatives | 49 / 120 |
| U.S. Senate | 0 / 2 |
| U.S. House of Representatives | 4 / 14 |
| State Supreme Court | 2 / 7 |
| Election symbol | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
TheNorth Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) is theNorth Carolina affiliate of theDemocratic Party. It is headquartered in the historic Goodwin House, located inRaleigh.
The party controls the governorship and 4 other non-judicial statewide elected offices, as well as 4 of the state's 14U.S. House seats. Since the 2010 passage of theAffordable Care Act, North Carolina Democrats have advocated for increasing the state'sminimum wage.
TheSecond Party System emerged from a divide in theDemocratic-Republican Party in 1828. They split off into two groups, the Democrats, led byAndrew Jackson, and theWhigs. In North Carolina, people from the west and northeast supported the Whigs mainly for their policies on education andinternal improvements. Meanwhile, eastern North Carolina was dominated by wealthy planters who tended to oppose activist government. During the Civil War, Whigs and Unionist Democrats formed the Conservative Party and electedZebulon Vance as governor on a platform of supporting the Confederate war effort while defending states' rights and civil liberties against the Confederate government in Richmond.[3] Postwar, the Conservative Party reorganized to oppose the reconstruction policies enacted by the U.S. Congress following the Civil War.[4] By 1870, the two main parties were the Conservatives (who changed their name to "Democratic-Conservatives"[5] and then to Democrats by 1876) and theRepublicans.[6]
Before the 1960s, many NCDP leaders, as was the case with most state parties in the South, supported racial segregation. But beginning with the Republicans' 1964 presidential campaign andRichard Nixon's "Southern strategy" in 1968, white segregationists, including former U.S. SenatorJesse Helms, flocked to the Republican Party. Since then, most minority voters have supported the NCDP.Jimmy Carter carried North Carolina in the 1976 election, but from 1980 to 2004, the Republican presidential nominee won the state.
In spite of the conservative bent of North Carolina politics, a number of Democrats, such asTerry Sanford andJohn Edwards, have been elected to represent the state at the federal level. Edwards was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004. Republican U.S. SenatorElizabeth Dole was defeated for reelection in 2008 by DemocratKay Hagan, the same yearBarack Obama carried the state in his victory over RepublicanJohn McCain by a margin of less than one half of a percentage point.[7]
Since the passage of theAffordable Care Act, North Carolina Democrats have prioritized advocating Medicaid expansion in the state, a policy that would provide a federally subsidized healthcare plan to approximately 500,000 North Carolinians.[8] Another priority for North Carolina Democrats in the 2010s and 2020s has been increasing theminimum wage.[9]
The state party chair isAnderson Clayton, who was elected in 2023. The chair is elected by and leads the State Executive Committee (the "SEC"), a body of more than 500 Democratic Party leaders and activists from all 100 counties, which governs the party. Jonah Garson is the First Vice-Chair, Kimberly Hardy is the second Vice-Chair, Elijah King is the Third Vice-Chair and Melvin Williams is the Secretary.[10]
Kian Sadjadi was named Executive Director on November 1, 2023.[11]
North Carolina Democrats scored impressive victories in the 2006 general elections, increasing their majorities in both houses of theNorth Carolina General Assembly and defeating incumbent Republican U.S. RepresentativeCharles H. Taylor. In addition, most candidates backed by Democrats in the non-partisan races for theNorth Carolina Supreme Court and theNorth Carolina Court of Appeals were elected. These victories came despite controversies surroundingJim Black, a Democrat and formerSpeaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives.[14][15]
In 2008, the North Carolina Democratic Party once again earned major victories in state and federal elections. For the first time since1976, the Democratic nominee carried North Carolina in thepresidential election. Meanwhile,Kay Hagan was elected to theU.S. Senate over incumbentElizabeth Dole, andBeverly Perdue waselected governor to succeed fellow DemocratMike Easley.
In 2010, Republicans swept North Carolina, taking control of both houses of the General Assembly for the first time since 1896, reelectingRichard Burr to a second term by double digits, and unseating incumbent Democratic U.S. RepresentativeBob Etheridge.
Bev Perdue retired as governor and the Democratic nominee for governor,Lieutenant Governor of North CarolinaWalter H. Dalton was defeated in the general election by RepublicanPat McCrory. Incumbent Democratic U.S. RepresentativeLarry Kissell was unseated, and two open U.S. House seats previously controlled by Democrats were also gained by Republicans.
2014 saw incumbent SenatorKay Hagan defeated for reelection, and the seat of U.S. RepresentativeMike McIntyre who had retired was taken by a Republican. Democrats in theNorth Carolina House of Representatives flipped four seats from Republican held districts in Wake and Buncombe counties. The state party also saw success in the non-partisan races forNorth Carolina Supreme Court and theNorth Carolina Court of Appeals.
In 2016, Democrats retook the governor's office,electing then-Attorney GeneralRoy Cooper, while alsoelecting a Democrat to succeed him as Attorney General,Josh Stein. Meanwhile, Democratslost seats in theNorth Carolina Council of State, picked up one seat in the state House[16] and lost one seat in the state Senate.[17] Democratic nomineeDeborah K. Ross lost theU.S. Senate election to incumbentRichard Burr. Democratsretook the majority on theNorth Carolina Supreme Court for the first time in the 21st century.
In 2018, Democrats added a seat to their judicial majority on theNorth Carolina Supreme Court whenAnita Earls defeated Incumbent Republican JusticeBarbara Jackson and lawyer Chris Anglin winning by a plurality vote of 48.79%. Democrats also gained two seats on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and incumbent judgeJohn S. Arrowood ran for his first full term after being appointed by GovernorRoy Cooper in 2017. Legislative Democrats were able to break the Republican supermajority's in both the State House and Senate for the first time since losing control of both chambers in 2010.
In 2020, Democratic governor Roy Cooper won reelection.
in 2022, Democrats flipped the redrawn13th district from Republican control, and won the newly created14th district, yielding an even 7—7 House delegation.
Republicans won a narrow majority in the NC house by 2 new seats, and a smaller majority in the senate also by 2 new seats. In the state's supreme court Republicans won both seats on the Supreme Court and all four races for the Court of Appeals. As a result of these elections, Republicans holds a 5–2 majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court.[18][19]
Both of North Carolina'sU.S. Senate seats have been held byRepublicans since2015.Kay Hagan was the last Democrat to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate. First elected in2008, Hagan lost her bid for a second term in2014 to Republican challengerThom Tillis who has held the seat since.
Out of the 14 seats North Carolina is apportioned in theU.S. House of Representatives, 4 are held by Democrats:
| District | Member | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Don Davis |  |
| 2nd | Deborah K. Ross |  |
| 4th | Valerie Foushee |  |
| 12th | Alma Adams | .jpg) |
Democrats control five of the ten elected statewide offices:
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There are 48 Democratic State House members as of 2024. Current members are listed below:[20][21]
There are 20 Democratic State Senators. Current senators are listed below:[22][23]
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