North Carolina Democrats have shown up in huge numbers so far in early voting ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3, leading some party loyalists to believe they can win in exurban counties that have long been red, like Cabarrus.
Rosa Culver-Sims is chair of the Cabarrus Democratic Party. Earlier this week, she was working at an early voting site at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center.
“Good morning, Do you need some voting information?” she asked an approaching voter. They said no thanks.
She kept at it.
“Would you like to Democratic voting information?” Culver-Sims said to another early voter, who declined.
Culver-Sims was 0-2 – not surprising in a county that voted for President Trump by nearly eight percentage points in 2024. She was also campaigning outside an area where Trump held a rally ten years ago, five days before he won the state and the 2016 election.
During that rally, when Trump’s eventual victory over Hillary Clinton appeared unlikely, he opened his speech by saying the arena was a “wonderful, beautiful building” and that “there are wild times.”
But in 2026, these are bad times in the president’s world. His approval ratings are at a record low. And the North Carolina GOP has had a sluggish start in early, in-person voting.
Culver-Sims said Democrats could elect one or two members to the state House from Cabarrus. Roy Cooper might win the county in his race against Republican Michael Whatley for U.S. Senate. (Josh Stein did win Cabarrus County two years ago against scandal-plagued Republican Mark Robinson, one of the weakest candidates for governor in decades.)
She could not have imagined that when she became active in the party ten years ago.
“Absolutely not,” Culver-Sims said. “In 2016, the only thing I could think about was having my precinct organized enough to have some people stand at the polls and us making our voices heard.”
It’s not just Trump’s baggage that’s putting Cabarrus in play.
Development is spilling over from Mecklenburg County. While many wealthier and whiter residents moving out of Mecklenburg head to Union County to the southeast, those heading to Cabarrus tend to be more diverse. The share of white voters in Cabarrus was 71% in 2010. It’s now 66%.
“I happen to live in Harrisburg, which is the closest city to Mecklenburg County,” she said. “And what I have said to people is that if we can turn Harrisburg into solid blue, that will be the key to turning Cabarrus blue.”
Democrats have hoped for years they could one day call the county Bluebarrus.
Culver-Sims continues: “And to be so close where we could smell it, I never thought it.”
Cabarrus Democrats elected one state House member from 2022 to 2024 under court-ordered maps that gave them a favorable district. That was Diamond Staton-Williams. GOP lawmakers then redrew the lines to favor Republicans, and Staton-Williams lost.
Brian Echevarria won one of the newly drawn seats in 2024 by nearly 8 points. It includes deep-red, rural precincts on the border with Stanly County, which offset Democrats in Harrisburg.
In an interview, he said he’s unfazed by Cabarrus Republican turnout so far. It’s down 13 percentage points from this point in the 2022 election.
“You know what? I work hard,” he said. “By most people’s accounts, I had an exceptional term, and I depend on voters to sort through that.”
Echevarria’s District 82 is one of a dozen that Democrats are targeting to win back the state House for the first time in 15 years. His Democratic opponent, Chris Bishopp, couldn’t be reached for comment.
One of Echevarria’s key issues is backing a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would require the legislature to limit how much municipalities and counties can raise property taxes.
“The revenues are connected to an address, not a family,” he said. “And so many times in my opinion I think the government has to recognize that families are not a number on a spreadsheet.”
Echevarria said he meant that governments lose sight of the impact on families when they raise mileage rates too often and too high.
“It’s important we reform our 100-year-old property tax system,” he said.
Critics of the amendment say it will handcuff local governments that depend on property taxes, possibly resulting in cuts to services.
The other Cabarrus County House race features Republican incumbent Jonathan Almond against Democrat Thomas Monks.
In the state Senate, Republican Kevin Crutchfield is running against Democrat April Cook.
Should the Blue Wave be large enough, Democrats could win all three races.
Back at the Cabarrus Arena, Democrat Dan Redding is running for the County Commission. He wants to make history – recent history, that is.
“The last (Democratic Cabarrus Commissioner) elected was in 1986 and he rolled off in 90,” Redding said. “There’s three Dem County Commission candidates running, so hopefully it’s not just one; it’s three. And whether I win or lose, this isn’t the deep red county that it used to be.”
He worked the polls as a volunteer in 2024 which was a good year for Trump. Voters are more open to Democratic campaign literature today, he says.
“Definitely different from 24,” he said. “Just the reception alone. But again, it’s a long way to go.”
Early voting runs through October 31st. Election Day is Nov. 3.
