Early voting for the North Carolina primary hinted at strong Democratic enthusiasm ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.
Election Day confirmed that.
More than 800,000 people voted in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary Tuesday, where Roy Cooper easily defeated five candidates with 92% of the vote. Despite the low stakes – how many people in the state could name one other person on the ballot? – Democratic turnout was up more than 30% compared to 2022.
That’s when Cheri Beasley won the Democratic Senate primary, also with little competition, after Jeff Jackson dropped out of the race.
On the Republican side, only 626,000 people voted in the GOP primary this year, with favorite Michael Whatley getting 65%. That’s an 18% drop from the number of voters who cast ballots when Ted Budd won the Republican primary four years ago over Pat McCrory.
Four years ago, that enthusiasm gap in the primaries held through the general election in November, when Budd defeated Beasley.
This year, Democrats and some unaffiliated voters are furious about President Trump and they seem eager to show that anger at the ballot box.
There are a few other signs of a blue wave building:
- In Mecklenburg County, two state House Democrats – Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed – lost reelection after being targeted for voting with Republicans to override Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes. Not only did they lose, they were crushed. Neither incumbent got more than 30% of the vote.
Working with the GOP has become a red line for many Democratic voters.
- In the November municipal elections, Democrats flipped roughly 150 seats statewide, although some were officially nonpartisan.
Closer to home, Democrats flipped a south Charlotte City Council seat that Republicans had always held. Kimberly Owens, with a “D” by her name, won it by a shocking 13 percentage points.
Another good sign for Democrats Tuesday came from Texas, where James Talarico won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate while Republicans couldn’t pick a candidate. He will face either incumbent John Cornyn or more MAGA Ken Paxton, who have to spend the next two months fighting a vicious runoff race.
Whoever he runs against, Talarico may be a tough opponent for Republicans. That could mean less outside money for Whatley this fall.
After sheriff win, the focus is now on DA Spencer Merriweather
With four candidates running, Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry McFadden won reelection Tuesday despite receiving less than 34% of the vote in the Democratic primary. (The previous threshold to avoid a runoff in North Carolina was 40%, but Republicans lowered that to 30% in 2017).
All candidates were Black, but there were clear racial lines in terms of support.
McFadden won in the county’s “crescent” of mostly Black neighborhoods ringing uptown. McFadden used to be a homicide detective on Charlotte’s westside, and he often celebrates himself being the county’s first Black sheriff.
Second-place finisher Ricky Robbins dominated in mostly white south Charlotte.
Rodney Collins benefited from an endorsement by former Sheriff Irwin Carmichel, getting nearly 27,000 votes — more than enough to tip the race to McFadden. Carmichael endorsed Collins despite Robbins appearing to be the clear frontrunner in terms of money raised. And you could argue Antwain Nance also acted as a spoiler, diverting a number of votes that would have pushed either Collins or Robbins into first place.
McFadden’s victory means a petition by five Mecklenburg residents to remove him from office now holds more significance. Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to review their allegations of mismanagement. Merriweather could ask a Superior Court Judge to suspend or remove the sheriff from office.
State law does not require criminality to remove a law enforcement official. A “Willful or habitual neglect or refusal to perform duties” can be grounds for removal.
A spokesperson for Merriweather’s office said the SBI investigation is ongoing.
Will the SBI investigation focus narrowly on criminality? Or will it examine the broader criticisms made by former employees that the sheriff is unfit for office?
McFadden has said the petition is full of lies and called it a political smear ahead of the primary.
Berger-Page
The state Senate race between Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page and Senate leader Phil Berger will likely be decided by provisional ballots. Page leads Berger by a minuscule two votes.
Here’s a good summary from the Carolina Journal about what comes next with provisionals.
To summarize, there are 137 provisional ballots in Rockingham County and 52 provisional ballots in the portion of Guilford County that includes Senate District 26.
Not all of these provisional voters may have attempted to vote in the GOP primary, so the actual number of possible new votes for either candidate is less.
But the raw numbers look good for Page, since he overwhelmingly won Rockingham.
Still, expect weeks if not months of wrangling over the ballots, and possible ugly spinoff fights. WRAL writes about Page’s concerns over state auditor Dave Boliek’s impartiality. And Bob Rucho resigned from the state Board of Elections over campaign contributions.
DOT comes to the table with possible I-77 changes
The N.C. Department of Transportation on Thursday met with the Charlotte City Council’s transportation committee to discuss the controversial Interstate 77 toll lanes project.
After months of growing anger from residents about the impact of the expansion, the DOT offered some potential concessions.
It said it would study the possibility of placing a small portion of the highway underground (though that’s probably infeasible without help from local money). It said it would look at placing concrete caps over part of the highway to build a park. And it said it would encourage four contractors to study ways to make the new toll lanes less intrusive, although that will be difficult without building fewer lanes.
The DOT’s main focus, however, was on “community benefits” — small projects or programs designed to get neighbors on board. That includes things like affordable housing nearby, a community center and programs to help small businesses.
It’s possible community benefits could be the biggest concession, and that council members latch onto those to claim victory. There are already signs council members are leaning that direction.
On Feb. 23, angry residents packed the Charlotte City Council chamber about the I-77 project.
They waved signs and gave passionate speeches. And council members were with them.
City Council member Kimberly Owens, for instance, questioned the entire premise of building the toll lanes from uptown to the South Carolina state line.
“(The DOT needs) to dig in on exploration of options, to ask hard questions about whether the data shows the project will deliver the promised reduction in congestion,” she said. “I implore our governor to direct the N.C. DOT to meet the moment with focus on broader options for moving people and freight. Not just moving a few cars with people willing to pay a toll.”
She also talked about the history of displacement of people in historically Black neighborhoods.
“When you know better, you do better,” she said. “And in 2026, we know better.”
The crowd showered her with massive applause.
Then, at a second meeting on March 2, Owens talked about the potential community benefits the DOT had proposed.
She said one could be a “community history program,” in which the DOT would take photographs of the neighborhood before part of it was razed for the toll lanes.
She then told a story about moving her grandmother into assisted living:
“And I would show her the brochure and I would say, ‘Oh, you would get to do arts and crafts, and you get daily playtime with a puppy.’ And she would say, ‘But I want to be home, I want to be in my home … But because it was the right thing to do, we moved her to assisted living … But she lost a lot in the move … But I really am hopeful with the passage of time and the historic experience with displacing families that we understand that at a fundamental level and our very appreciate we are communicating the benefits of having a history online where you can access online and see pictures of your own house.”
