RALEIGH, N.C. — Every seat in the North Carolina General Assembly, all 50 in the Senate and all 120 in the House, is on the Nov. 3 ballot, and the outcome will decide how much room Gov. Josh Stein has to push his agenda over the next two years.
Republicans have run both chambers since the 2010 elections. They hold 30 Senate seats and 71 in the House, a margin that has let them pass tax cuts, new abortion limits, looser gun rules and wider private school vouchers, often over a Democratic governor.
The House is where the math is closest. Republicans sit one seat short of a veto-proof House majority, so a single pickup would hand them the power to override Stein without any Democratic help. Democrats, holding 47 seats, would need to gain 11 to control the House, something the party has not done since 2010. Republicans won exactly 71 House seats in both 2022 and 2024, and last held a veto-proof House after taking 74 seats in 2016.
Joe Biden drew 44% or more of the presidential vote in 14 House districts now held by Republicans, and the suburbs are the main battleground. Targets include GOP incumbents in Wake, Nash, Mecklenburg, Forsyth and Guilford counties, among them Rep. Erin Paré, who chairs House Appropriations, and Rep. Tricia Cotham, whose 2023 switch from Democrat to Republican helped the GOP override vetoes.
The closest of them may be in Nash County, where Rep. Alan Chesser won by less than a percentage point in 2024 and now faces a rematch with Democrat Lorenza Wilkins and Libertarian Nick Taylor.
Democrats have their own seats to protect. Reps. Lindsey Prather of Buncombe County and Dante Pittman of Nash and Wilson counties hold districts President Donald Trump carried in 2024, and Rep. Bryan Cohn is in a rematch with Republican Frank Sossamon after winning by 228 votes two years ago.
The state Republican Party said Monday that its suburban incumbents are needed to keep a GOP voice for their communities. Stein has campaigned alongside several Democratic candidates in close districts this month.
Early voting runs through 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.
Section: More Asheville NC politics news
Filed under: Asheville NC Politics News
