RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — On Election Day, North Carolina continued its history of ticket splitting. It was a repeat of 2016 and 2020, where Donald Trump carried North Carolina in the race for President, but at the same time a Democrat was elected to be the state’s Governor.

In 2024, the trend was even more pronounced. Trump carried North Carolina by about 3 percent of the vote, while Democrat Josh Stein defeated Mark Robinson by 15 percentage points in the Governor’s race.

Down ballot, it was an even stronger picture for local Democrats. Rachel Hunt flipped the Lt. Governor’s seat for Democrats, and Democrats also won the Attorney General and State School Superintendent’s races.

SEE ALSO | NC Democrats poised to break Republican supermajority in House, strengthening Stein’s veto power

So who are some of those ticket-splitters? We spoke with one of the Democratic candidates who flipped a Republican seat in in the legislature in Wilson County. Democrat Dante Pittman says he believes appealing to the middle and focusing on the needs of rural communities may have let to some cross-party support.

“One of the things that I was up front about from the very beginning when I ran was that I’m a moderate Democrat. And here in eastern North Carolina and and Wilson County especially, we have a lot of moderate Democrats, folks that are willing to work across the aisle, folks that believe that you you see people on the other side, that you can come to a good compromise,” Pittman says.

Pittman’s Wilson-based district is among those flipped seats that helped break the GOP supermajority in the state legislature.

It’s also why some political experts still believe North Carolina will continue to be a battleground in the years ahead.

“I think that Trump winning again will mean that we get more questions about whether we’re a swing state,” says professor Jason Husser from Elon University.

“But as of now, we definitely are. We saw a massive victory of a Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Democrats doing well in other statewide elections in North Carolina, and Trump winning the state decisively, but not with such a margin that North Carolina couldn’t be won by Democrats in 2028.”

Despite the national GOP trend in 2024, the dynamics of North Carolina’s population growing, especially in the Triangle will mean continued competitive races.

Another major change this cycle was for the first time 2012, the Governor and Lt. Governor were from the same political party. Stein will be joined by fellow Democrat Rachel Hunt when he takes office.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — State Sen. Rachel Hunt, a first-term Democratic state senator is projected to become North Carolina’s next lieutenant governor.

Hunt, who represents the 42nd district, has strong North Carolina political bloodlines — her father is Jim Hunt, the longest-serving governor in North Carolina history, with terms from 1977-1985 and again from 1993-2001.

With all precincts reporting, Hunt led Republican challenger Hal Weatherman, a longtime political strategist.

She previously served two terms in the state House of Representatives, winning the seat in 2018 and 2020.

LIVE BLOG | Latest updates on local and statewide races

Hunt, a lawyer, said during the campaign that she was running “to get us back on track, fight for our basic freedoms, create safer communities, and make our education system the best it can be.”

Her stated priorities include investing in public schools, expanding access to health care, and helping local businesses succeed.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Republican Brad Briner has been elected North Carolina’s next state Treasurer, defeating his Democratic challenger State Rep. Wesley Harris.

The Associated Press projected Briner early Wednesday morning. As of 1:20 a.m., Briner lead Harris 52.46% to 47.54% according to the state Board of Elections.

The race pitted the only PhD economist in the legislature (Harris), against an investment manager and current member of the UNC Board of Trustees (Briner).

Both men campaigned on how they would improve upon the underperformance of the North Carolina Retirement System. They agree that too much of the state pension fund is sitting in cash.

The office also oversees the State Health Plan, serving more than 750,000 current and retired public employees. Current state Treasurer Dale Folwell has served in the position for two terms. Folwell unsuccessfully ran in the Republican gubernatorial primary, losing back in March to Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

Election night results are unofficial and vote totals will likely change over the coming days as local boards of election consider provisional, military, and overseas civilian ballots. The state Board of Elections is scheduled to meet Nov. 26 to certify the results.