North Carolina Republican Party

The North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in North Carolina. Michael Whatley was elected Chairman of the party on June 8, 2019.

North Carolina Republican Party
ChairpersonMichael Whatley
Lieutenant Governor of North CarolinaDan Forest
House LeaderTim Moore
Senate LeaderPhil Berger
Headquarters1506 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27605
Student wingNorth Carolina Federation of College Republicans
Youth wingNorth Carolina Federation of Young Republicans
IdeologyConservatism
Social conservatism
Political positionCenter-right to right-wing
National affiliationRepublican Party
ColorsRed
Statewide Executive Offices
6 / 10
Senate
29 / 50
House of Representatives
65 / 120
U.S. Senate
2 / 2
U.S. House of Representatives
10 / 13
Website
www.ncgop.org

History

Nineteenth century

Although Republicans first nominated a candidate for President of the United States, John C. Fremont, in 1856,[1] the party was not established in North Carolina until 1867, after the Civil War. With the help of the newly enfranchised freedmen, Republicans were briefly successful in state politics, dominating the convention that wrote the Constitution of North Carolina of 1868 and electing several governors.[2] After Reconstruction, Democrats returned to power, often suppressing the black vote by violence and fraud. Republicans had success in the 1890s when they joined forces with the Populist party in an "electoral fusion." They gained enough seats in the legislature to control it in 1896, and elected Daniel L. Russell as governor in 1896.[3][4][5]

Twentieth century

To prevent this kind of challenge, after Democrats regained control of the state legislature, in 1900 they adopted a constitutional suffrage amendment which required prepayment of a poll tax and an educational qualification (to be assessed by a registrar, which meant that it could be subjectively applied), and lengthened the residence period required before registration. A grandfather clause exempted from the poll tax those entitled to vote on January 1, 1867, which limited exemptions to white men.[6] These barriers to voter registration caused a dramatic drop in the number of African-American voters in the state by 1904, although they constituted one-third of the population.[7] An estimated 75,000 black male citizens lost the vote.[8][9]

With North Carolina a one-party Democratic state of the Solid South following the disfranchisement of blacks, North Carolina Republicans struggled to survive as a party during the first half of the twentieth century. African Americans were virtually excluded from the political system in the state until the late 1960s. In 1928 Republicans carried the state's electoral votes for president (for candidate Herbert Hoover).[10] White members of the Republican Party generally lived in the Piedmont near Charlotte and Winston-Salem, and the mountains in the western part of the state. In 1952 Charles R. Jonas was elected to Congress from the western part of the state as the first Republican since before the Great Depression. He was joined in 1962 by Jim Broyhill. From this base, and nearly winning the electoral votes for the state in the Presidential elections from 1952 to 1960, the party began to grow.

As in other southern states, in the late 20th century, white conservatives began to shift from the Democratic Party to the Republican one, especially after national Democratic leaders supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. White conservatives first voted for Republican presidential candidates. From 1968 through 2004, the majority of North Carolina voters supported Republicans in every presidential election, except 1976, when favorite son Democrat Jimmy Carter was elected from Georgia.[11] When they re-entered the political system, African Americans shifted their alliance from the Republican to the Democratic Party, which had national leaders who had supported the civil rights effort and legislation enforcing their constitutional rights as citizens.

In 1972, Republicans became competitive in statewide elections for the first time since 1900: James Holshouser was elected Governor of the state, and Jesse Helms, a former Democrat who held office for a long time, was elected to the U.S. Senate.[12] Jack Lee, who was elected state party chairperson in 1977, is widely credited with unifying the North Carolina Republican Party in this period.[13][14]

The parties were generally competitive, with the state's voters split between them, through much of the rest of the 20th century.

Twenty-first century

The elections of 2010 led to Republican control of both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly for the first time since 1896[15] when it had gained success in a fusionist campaign with the Populist Party.

The state legislature's redistricting of congressional districts has been challenged in several lawsuits for racial gerrymandering, which are still in progress in 2016.

In 2012, Republicans retained control of the legislature and elected two Republicans, Pat McCrory and Dan Forest, as Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively. Most of the other Council of State offices (the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively) were won by Democratic candidates. (The other Republicans are Cherie K. Berry, Commissioner of Labor and Steve Troxler, Commissioner of Agriculture.)

Party platform

The most recent version of the North Carolina Republican platform was released on June 7, 2013. It contains ten articles and was formed by 13 district representatives and 3 Republican chair members.[16]

North Carolina Republicans passed laws in 2016 to order the transgender people to use their bathrooms according to their original sex. On March 23, 2016, Governor McCrory signed the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (commonly known as House Bill 2 or HB2), which has been described as the most anti-LGBT legislation in the United States.[17][18][19][20] One contentious element of the law eliminates and forbids cities to re-establish anti-discrimination protections for gay, transgender, and intersex people.[21] The law also legislates that in government buildings, people may only use restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates,[21] which has been criticized because it prevents transgender people who do not or cannot alter their birth certificates from using the restroom consistent with their gender identity.[21]

The party supports free enterprise economics with little government regulation and taxation.[22]

North Carolina Republicans have been criticized for their support of the death penalty, as studies have shown it has been disproportionately applied to racial minorities. In an effort to repeal the Racial Justice Act, North Carolina Republicans introduced a bill that would essentially veto the act passed in 2009.[23] In June 2013, North Carolina's governor Pat McCrory signed the repeal of the Racial Justice Act, saying that the law was essentially a ban on capital punishment in the state.[24]

English should be the official language of the United States.[16]

Current elected officials

The party controls six of the ten statewide Council of State offices and holds a majority in both the North Carolina House of Representatives and the North Carolina Senate. Republicans also hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and 8 of the state's 13 U.S. House seats.

When the Republican-controlled legislature conducted redistricting in 2011, it established districts biased toward Republicans. As a result, although more voters chose Democratic congressional candidates in the state in 2012 than Republican, the Republicans took a majority of the seats. The redistricting has been challenged in legal cases going before the Supreme Court.[25]

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

Republicans have controlled both of North Carolina's seats in the U.S. Senate since 2014:


U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the 13 seats North Carolina is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, 10 are held by Republicans:

Statewide offices

Republicans control six of the ten elected statewide offices:

North Carolina General Assembly
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See also

References
  1. "About". ncgop.org.
  2. "The North Carolina Civil War Experience - War's End and Reconstruction".
  3. http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?vid=2&hid=102&sid=f21d52b3-ac19-4eb87b-036eaad362b9%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=39024661
  4. "North Carolina History Project : Fusion Politics". Archived from the original on 2012-09-04.
  5. "The North Carolina Election of 1898". Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  6. Richard H. Pildes, "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon", Constitutional Commentary, Vol.17, 2000, p. 27. Retrieved March 10, 2008
  7. Historical Census Browser, 1900 US Census, University of Virginia Archived 2007-08-23 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 15 Mar 2008
  8. Albert Shaw, The American Monthly Review of Reviews, Vol.XXII, Jul-Dec 1900, p.274
  9. Richard H. Pildes, "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon", Constitutional Commentary, Vol. 17, 2000, pp. 12-13
  10. "North Carolina Presidential Election Voting History".
  11. http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?vid=3&hid=102&sid=f21d52b3-ac19-4e7a-b87b-036eaad362b9%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=funk&AN=NO057500
  12. "The election of 1972 - North Carolina Digital History".
  13. Jacobs, Chick (2014-06-11). "Former Fayetteville mayor, Jackson Lee, dies". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  14. "Former Fayetteville Mayor Elected Chairman of Party". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. 1977-04-16. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  15. "Republican party takes control over NC General Assembly". 3 November 2010.
  16. http://www.ncgop.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2013-Platform-Passed.pdf
  17. "How North Carolina signed a bill dubbed the most anti-LGBT law in the U.S." pbs.org. Public Broadcasting Service. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  18. Kopan, Tal; Scott, Eugene (24 March 2016). "North Carolina governor signs controversial transgender bill". cnn.com. Cable News Network. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  19. Gordon, Michael; Price, Mark S.; Peralta, Katie (26 March 2016). "Understanding HB2: North Carolina's newest law solidifies state's role in defining discrimination". charlotteobserver.com. The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  20. Tan, Avianne (24 March 2016). "North Carolina's Controversial 'Anti-LGBT' Bill Explained". abcnews.go.com. American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  21. "What Just Happened In North Carolina?". TPM. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  23. "NC Governor vetoes death row racial bias bill". Archived from the original on 14 January 2012.
  24. Matt Smith (June 21, 2013). "'Racial Justice Act' repealed in North Carolina". CNN. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  25. The New York Times, 11 March 2016
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