North Carolina Democratic Party

The North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) is the North Carolina affiliate of the national Democratic Party in the United States. It is headquartered in the historic Goodwin house, which is located in the downtown area of Raleigh at 220 Hillsborough Street.[1]

North Carolina Democratic Party
ChairpersonWayne Goodwin
Governor of North CarolinaRoy Cooper
Senate LeaderDan Blue
House LeaderDarren Jackson
Founded1828
Headquarters220 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC 27603
IdeologySocial liberalism
Modern liberalism
Political positionCenter to center-left
National affiliationDemocratic Party
ColorsBlue
Statewide Executive Offices
4 / 10
Senate
21 / 50
House of Representatives
55 / 120
U.S. Senate
0 / 2
U.S. House of Representatives
3 / 13
Website
www.ncdp.org

History
Previous logo of the North Carolina Democratic Party

The second party system emerged from a divide in the Democratic-Republican party in 1828. They split off into two groups, the Democrats, led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whigs. In North Carolina, people from the west and northeast supported the Whigs mainly because they wanted education and internal improvements to help with the economy. Meanwhile, Eastern North Carolina was dominated by wealthy planters who tended to oppose activist government. Over time, the Democrats slowly came to support many of the Whig policies on internal improvements. For the first time in history voters were splitting off into one of the two parties. In the 1850s the Whigs were split by the issue of slavery. Former Confederates and Whigs eventually formed the Conservative Party and opposed the reconstruction policies enacted by the U.S. Congress following the Civil War.[2] By 1870, the two main parties were the Conservatives (who changed their name to "Democratic-Conservatives"[3] and then to Democrats by 1876), and the Republicans (GOP).[4]

Before the 1960s many of the white leaders of the NCDP, as was the case with most state parties in the then one-party South, supported racial segregation. But beginning with the Republicans' 1964 Presidential campaign and Richard Nixon's "Southern Strategy" in 1968, many with such views – such as TV commentator Jesse Helms, who went on to serve several terms in the U.S. Senate – flocked to the Republican party. Since then, the majority of minority voters have joined moderate and progressive white voters to make NCDP values consistent with those of the national Democratic party. Jimmy Carter carried North Carolina in the Presidential campaign of 1976, but from 1980 to 2004, the Republican nominee for the presidency won the state.

In spite of the largely conservative bent of North Carolina's politics, a number of liberal Democrats, such as Terry Sanford and John Edwards, have been elected to represent the state at the federal level. Edwards was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, the wife of Republican Senator and Presidential candidate Bob Dole - and a one-time presidential candidate herself - was defeated for reelection in 2008 by Kay Hagan, the same year Barack Obama carried the state in his victory over Republican John McCain by a margin of less than one half of a percentage point.[5]

Recent electoral results

2006

North Carolina Democrats scored impressive victories in the 2006 general elections, increasing their majorities in both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly and defeating incumbent Republican Congressman Charles H. Taylor. In addition, most candidates backed by Democrats in the non-partisan races for the North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected. These victories came despite controversies surrounding Jim Black, a Democrat and former Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives. The State Board of Elections ruled that Black's campaign illegally accepted corporate contributions and checks with the payee line left blank. He pleaded guilty to a federal corruption charge, after denying charges through the November 2006 election. He won re-election by just seven votes in a heavily Democratic district, but resigned from office in 2007.[6][7]

2008

In 2008, the North Carolina Democratic Party once again earned major victories in state and federal elections. For the first time since 1976, the Democratic nominee carried North Carolina in the presidential election. Meanwhile, Kay Hagan was elected to the U.S. Senate over incumbent Elizabeth Dole, and Beverly Perdue was elected governor to succeed fellow Democrat Mike Easley.

2010

In 2010, Republicans swept North Carolina, taking control of both houses of the General Assembly for the first time since 1896, reelecting Richard Burr to a second term by double digits, and unseating incumbent Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge.

2012

Bev Perdue retired as Governor and the Democratic nominee for Governor, Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina Walter H. Dalton was defeated in the general election by Republican Pat McCrory. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell was unseated and Reps Heath Shuler and Brad Miller both retired and their seats were gained by Republicans.

2014

2014 saw Incumbent Senator Kay Hagan defeated for re-election and the seat of Rep. Mike McIntyre who had retired was taken by a Republican. Democrats in the North Carolina House of Representatives flipped four seats from Republican held districts in Wake and Buncombe counties. The state party also saw success in the non-partisan races for North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

2016

In 2016, Democrats retook the governor's office, electing then-Attorney General Roy Cooper, while also electing a Democrat to succeed him as Attorney General, Josh Stein. Meanwhile, Democrats lost seats in the North Carolina Council of State, picked up one seat in the state House[8] and lost one seat in the state Senate.[9] Democratic nominee Deborah K. Ross lost the U.S. Senate election to incumbent Richard Burr. Democrats retook the majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court for the first time in the 21st century.

NCDP organizations

State Leadership

The state party chair is Wayne Goodwin, who was elected in 2017. The chair is elected by and leads the state Executive Committee, a body of more than 700 Democratic Party leaders and activists from all 100 counties, which governs the party.[10] Aisha Dew is the first vice chair, Matt Hughes is the second vice chair, Nida Allam is the third vice chair and Melvin Williams is the secretary.[11]

Current elected officials

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate
  • None

Both of North Carolina's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Republicans since 2014. Kay Hagan was the last Democrat to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate. First elected in 2008, Hagan lost her bid for a second term in 2014 to Republican challenger Thom Tillis who has held the seat since.

U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the 13 seats North Carolina is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, 3 are held by Democrats:

Statewide offices

Democrats control four of the ten elected statewide offices:

State legislative leaders

State House
Old House of Representatives Chamber, used until 1963 at the State Capitol

There are 55 Democratic State House members as of 2020. Current members are listed below:[12][13]

State Senate
Old Senate Chamber of North Carolina, used until 1963 construction of separate state legislative building

There are 21 Democratic State Senators. Current senators are listed below:[14][15]

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See also

Notes
  1. "Goodwin House – North Carolina Democratic Party". www.ncdp.org. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  2. "The North Carolina Election of 1898 · UNC Libraries". www.lib.unc.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  3. Address of the Central Executive Committee
  4. "Whigs and Democrats - North Carolina Digital History". www.learnnc.org. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  5. "President Map - Election Results 2008". The New York Times.
  6. http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=central&id=5031714
  7. http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/jimblack/
  8. Ballotpedia: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2016
  9. Ballotpedia: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2016
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2007-01-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. NC Democratic Party elects diverse leadership team
  12. "N.C. House of Representatives". www.ncdp.org. NC Democratic Party website. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  13. "North Carolina Representatives 2019-2020 Session". ncleg.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  14. "NC Senate". NC Democratic Party website. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  15. "North Carolina Senators 2019-2020 Session". Retrieved 2020-05-07.
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