Obama, Hagan, Perdue Win

Special Report - November 5, 2008
According to unofficial election results from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, over 68 percent of the state’s 6,262,566 voters participated in the November 4 General Election, choosing Democrats Barack Obama for President, Kay Hagan for U.S. Senate and Beverly Perdue for Governor. With nearly 4.3 million votes cast statewide, and before provisional ballots had been counted, Obama led Republican John McCain by only 11,246 votes in the state or .26 percent of the vote. Kay Hagan will trade her post in the North Carolina Senate for a seat in the United States Senate after defeating Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole with 52.6 percent of the vote compared to Dole’s 44.2 percent. All of North Carolina’s 13-member U.S. House delegation will be returning to Washington, D.C. except Republican Robin Hayes, who was defeated by Democrat Larry Kissell in a hotly contested Eighth Congressional District race, in which Kissell carried 55 percent of the vote.

Beverly Perdue edged out Republican Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory in the race for Governor by 136,367 votes, and Democrat Walter Dalton defeated Republican Robert Pittenger for the Lieutenant Governor’s post. In other Council of State races, the following incumbents successfully defended their seats: Roy Cooper (D)—Attorney General, Steve Troxler (R)—Commissioner or Agriculture, Cherie Berry (R)—Commissioner of Labor, Elaine Marshall (D)—Secretary of State, and June Atkinson (D)—Superintendent of Public Instruction. Incumbent State Auditor Les Merritt (R) was defeated by challenger Beth Wood (D), while Wayne Goodwin (D) will succeed long-term State Insurance Commissioner Jim Long, and Janet Cowell (D) will become the next State Treasurer.

The North Carolina Supreme Court will remain unchanged as Justice Bob Edmunds held off a challenge from Suzanne Reynolds by 51 percent of the vote. Incumbent State Court of Appeals judges John Martin, Jim Wynn and Linda Stephens retained their seats, while incumbents Doug McCullough and John Arrowood were defeated by Cheri Beasley and Bob Hunter, respectively. In addition, Sam Ervin, IV defeated Kristin Ruth for the seat formerly held by John Tyson, who was defeated in the primary election.

Finally, on the state legislative level, Democrats again control both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly, maintaining a 68—52 margin in the State House and losing one seat in the State Senate to hold a 30—20 majority.

North Carolina Family Policy Council president Bill Brooks commented, "We look forward to working with our newly elected U.S. Senator and Governor, as well as other members of the legislative and executive branches, on issues that are important to the families of North Carolina. We will continue to provide accurate and timely research on a wide range of topics and believe our efforts will provide a foundation for reaching a consensus for many of the challenging public policy issues facing our state."

Copyright © 2008. North Carolina Family Policy Council. All rights reserved.