North Carolina Democrats find electoral success further down the ballot and hope to build on it
Democrats fell short again in wresting away swing-state prize North Carolina from Republicans in the presidential election
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Democrats fell short again in wresting away swing-state prize North Carolina from Republicans in the presidential election, but scored significant downballot victories, giving them hope as they look to the future.
Despite Donald Trump's more than 3-percentage point win over Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina, Democrats celebrated Election Day victories in races for governor, attorney general and the legislature in a closely divided state where conservatives have recently dominated the General Assembly and the courts.
In an election with few bright spots for Democrats nationally, the ticket-splitting tendencies of Tar Heel state voters offered some of that good news.
“I think we had quality candidates running for office against right-wing extremists, and the people of North Carolina made the right choices,” said Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, a Harris surrogate who was once considered her potential running mate, of the downballot races.
