(The Center Square) – Less than 3% of more than 53,000 net voter registration additions in North Carolina the last 12 weeks have gone to registered parties.
Choosing independence over the Republican, Democrat or Libertarian parties in the past seven days swelled the unaffiliated bloc to 39.8% of the more than 7.7 million registrations, the State Board of Elections database says. Of 3,487 net registrations gained in the seven-day period updated Saturday, 3,180 were unaffiliated.
Democrats gained 155 and Republicans 110.
In the past 12 weeks, the total registrations have gone up 53,029. The shares are an increase of 51,720 for independents, an increase of 860 for Republicans and 144 for Democrats.
The unaffiliated bloc is at a record high 3,096,420. Republicans have 29.9% of registrations, or 2,325,777; and Democrats have 29.7%, or 2,315,070.
For the 2026 midterms on Nov. 3, absentee ballots go into the mail Sept. 4 – or 10 weeks from this coming Friday. North Carolinians will choose a U.S. senator, all 14 members of the U.S. House, and all 170 members of the General Assembly.
For context in the change of landscape, at what is generally considered a landmark Election Day in 2008, the state’s total registrations were 6,264,733. Those unaffiliated numbered just under 1.4 million (22.2%) while Democrats’ 2,866,669 had 45.8% share and Republicans’ 2,002,416 was a 32% share. Barack Obama became the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 to carry the state, by a mere 14,177 votes of more than 4.3 million cast, on the way to winning the White House.
The state’s lone U.S. Senate seat was won by Democrat Kay Hagan, and the 13 U.S. House seats were divvied up eight Democrats and five Republicans.
The Council of State went 8-2 to Democrats. Incumbent Republicans’ Steve Troxler and Cherie Berry remained commissioners of agriculture and labor, respectively. And the General Assembly was 30-20 Democrats in the Senate and 68-52 Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Today, Republicans have won the state in the presidential race 13 of the last 15 contests (1968-present), five consecutive U.S. Senate races (2010-present), and two years ago captured 10 of 14 seats for the U.S. House.
The Council of State is a 5-5 split. On Election Day 2024, the General Assembly majorities were 30-20 Republicans in the Senate and 71-49 Republicans in the House of Representatives.
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