The Democrats' Countrypolitan Problem in North Carolina

The 2022 election year looks to be a challenging one for North Carolina Democrats. A major part of that challenge stems from what we call their “Countrypolitan” problem.

Extremely gerrymandered Republican maps could put Democratic candidates at a significant disadvantage in congressional and state legislative races. But here we focus on the formidable climb that Democrats face in statewide races this year and perhaps into the foreseeable future.

In 2020 the victory of Donald Trump and most other GOP statewide candidates proved that a dependable Democratic majority had still not emerged in North Carolina. Democratic presidential candidates have now lost NC in 10 out of the last 11 elections. Moreover, Democratic candidates have won only one US Senate race in the last 20 years and two in the last 30.

With Terry McAuliffe’s 2021 gubernatorial loss in the previously safe blue state of Virginia, a negative regional and national trend may also be developing against Democrats.

Read more: https://www.politicsnc.com/the-democrats-countrypolitan-problem-in-north-carolina/