The North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) is the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

affiliate of the Democratic Party. It is headquartered in the historic Goodwin House, located in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. Governor

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 200 ...

is a North Carolina Democrat. Since the 2010 passage of the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...

, North Carolina Democrats have advocated Medicaid expansion in the state, a policy that would provide a federally subsidized health insurance plan to approximately 500,000 North Carolinians. Another priority for North Carolina Democrats in the 2010s and 2020s has been increasing the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...

History

The

Second Party System Historians and political scientists use Second Party System to periodize the political party system operating in the United States from about 1828 to 1852, after the First Party System ended. The system was characterized by rapidly rising levels ...

emerged from a divide in the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the earl ...

in 1828. They split off into two groups, the Democrats, led by

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

, and the Whigs. In North Carolina, people from the west and northeast supported the Whigs mainly for their policies on education and internal improvements. Meanwhile, eastern North Carolina was dominated by wealthy planters who tended to oppose activist government. During the Civil War, Whigs and Unionist Democrats formed the Conservative Party and elected Zebulon Vance as governor on a platform of supporting the Confederate war effort while defending states' rights and civil liberties against the Confederate government in Richmond. Postwar, the Conservative Party reorganized to oppose the reconstruction policies enacted by the U.S. Congress following the Civil War. By 1870, the two main parties were the Conservatives (who changed their name to "Democratic-Conservatives" and then to Democrats by 1876) and the Republicans. Before the 1960s, many NCDP leaders, as was the case with most state parties in the South, supported racial segregation. But beginning with the Republicans' 1964 presidential campaign and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's "

Southern strategy In American politics, the Southern strategy was a Republican Party electoral strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. As the civil rights movement and dismantling of ...

" in 1968, white segregationists, including former U.S. Senator

Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committe ...

, flocked to the Republican Party. Since then, most minority voters have supported the NCDP.

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

carried North Carolina in the 1976 election, but from 1980 to 2004, the Republican presidential nominee won the state. In spite of the conservative bent of North Carolina politics, a number of 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. Republican U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole was defeated for reelection in 2008 by Democrat Kay Hagan, the same year

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

carried the state in his victory over Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

by a margin of less than one half of a percentage point. Since the passage of the

, North Carolina Democrats have prioritized advocating Medicaid expansion in the state, a policy that would provide a federally subsidized healthcare plan to approximately 500,000 North Carolinians. Another priority for North Carolina Democrats in the 2010s and 2020s has been increasing the

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 U.S. Representative Charles H. Taylor. In addition, most candidates backed by Democrats in the non-partisan races for the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

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.

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 A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

. Meanwhile, Kay Hagan was elected to the U.S. Senate over incumbent Elizabeth Dole, and

Beverly Perdue Beverly Eaves Perdue (born Beverly Marlene Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 73rd governor of North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. She was the first female gove ...

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 U.S. Representative Bob Etheridge.

2012

Bev Perdue Beverly Eaves Perdue (born Beverly Marlene Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 73rd governor of North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. She was the first female gove ...

retired as governor and the Democratic nominee for governor,

Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina The lieutenant governor of North Carolina is the second-highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. A member o ...

Walter H. Dalton Walter H. Dalton (born May 21, 1949) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. A member of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party, he served six terms in the state senate bef ...

was defeated in the general election by Republican

Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American businessman, politician and radio host who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd Mayor of ...

. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative

Larry Kissell Lawrence Webb Kissell (born January 31, 1951) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , a district that stretched from Charlotte to Fayetteville. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2009 to 2013. In 201 ...

was unseated, and two open U.S. House seats previously controlled by Democrats were also gained by Republicans.

2014

2014 saw incumbent Senator Kay Hagan defeated for reelection, and the seat of U.S. Representative

Mike McIntyre Douglas Carmichael "Mike" McIntyre II (; born August 6, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who was first elected to represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. He served for 18 ...

who had retired was taken by a Republican. Democrats in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, ...

flipped four seats from Republican held districts in Wake and Buncombe counties. The state party also saw success in the non-partisan races for

and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

2016

In 2016, Democrats retook the governor's office, electing then-Attorney General

, while also electing a Democrat to succeed him as Attorney General,

Josh Stein Joshua Stein (born September 13, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who serves as the 50th and current Attorney General of North Carolina, a position he has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Stein previously served as a ...

. Meanwhile, Democrats lost seats in the North Carolina Council of State, picked up one seat in the state House and lost one seat in the state Senate. Democratic nominee

Deborah K. Ross Deborah Ross (née Koff, June 20, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2021. Her district is based in Raleigh. A member of the Democratic Party, Ross served as a member of the North Caro ...

lost the U.S. Senate election to incumbent Richard Burr. Democrats retook the majority on the

for the first time in the 21st century.

NCDP organizations

*North Carolina Democratic Women * Young Democrats of North Carolina *College Democrats of North Carolina
NC Senior DemocratsNC Teen Democrats
*African American Caucus of the NC *NCDP Hispanic American Caucus *LGBT Democrats of North Carolina *NCDP Disability Issues Caucus

Leadership

The state party chair is

Bobbie Richardson Bobbie J. Richardson (born December 25, 1949) is an American politician. She is the former Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, former First Vice Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party and a former Democratic member of the North ...

, who was elected in 2021. 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. Floyd McKissick Jr. is the First Vice-Chair, Matt Hughes is the second Vice-Chair, Shannon Auer is the Third Vice-Chair and Melvin Williams is the Secretary.

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 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

. Kay Hagan was the last Democrat to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate. First elected in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Hagan lost her bid for a second term in

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, five are held by Democrats:

Statewide offices

Democrats control four of the ten elected statewide offices: File:Governor Roy Cooper with NC Transportation (cropped).jpg,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

File:Josh Stein.jpg,

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

* Secretary of State:

Elaine Marshall Elaine Folk Marshall (born November 18, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the North Carolina Secretary of State since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman to be elected to statewide offic ...

* State Auditor:

Beth Wood Beth A. Wood (born April 22, 1954) is an American politician and accountant serving as the Auditor of North Carolina since 2009. A Democrat, she is the first woman to hold the office. Born in New Bern, she initially worked as a dental hygienist ...

State legislative leaders

* Senate Minority Leader:

Dan Blue Daniel Terry Blue Jr. (born April 18, 1949) is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the No ...

*Senate Minority Whip: Jay Chaudhuri *Senate Minority Caucus Secretary:

Ben Clark (politician) Ben Clark is an American politician who served in the North Carolina Senate from the 21st district (representing constituents in Hoke and Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the La ...

* House Minority Leader: Robert T. Reives II *House Deputy Minority Leader: TBD *House Minority Whips: Cynthia Ball, Garland E. Pierce, Deb Butler,

Carla Cunningham Carla D. Cunningham (born January 12, 1962) is an American Democratic politician. She has served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 106th district since 2012. Education and career She was born in Wadesboro, Nort ...

, and Amos Quick.

State House

House of Representatives Chamber - North Carolina State Capitol - DSC05943

North Carolina Democratic Party building

There are 51 Democratic State House members as of 2021. Current members are listed below: *District 5:

Howard J. Hunter III Howard Jacque Hunter III is a former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives who represented the state's 5th House district (including constituents in Gates, Hertford, and Pasquotank counties) from 2015 to 2023. A Democrat, Hunter ...

*District 8:

Kandie Smith Kandie Diane Smith (born October 20, 1969) is a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. Smith has represented the 8th district (including constituents in Pitt County) since 2019. She was previously the interim mayor o ...

*District 9:

Brian Farkas Brian Austin Farkas (born August 14, 1987) is an American politician and State Representative who served the District 9 in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Early life and education Farkas was raised in Pitt County, and attended J. ...

*District 11: Allison Dahle *District 18: Deb Butler *District 21: Raymond Smith Jr. *District 23: Shelly Willingham *District 24: Linda Cooper-Suggs *District 25: James Gailliard *District 27: Michael H. Wray *District 29: Vernetta Alston *District 30: Marcia Morey *District 31: Zack Forde-Hawkins *District 32: Terry Garrison *District 33: Rosa Gill *District 34:

Grier Martin David Grier Martin III (born October 21, 1968) is an American politician and attorney serving as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly, representing the state's 34th district. His district includes the northern part of Rale ...

*District 35: Terence Everitt *District 36: Julie von Haefen *District 38: Abe Jones *District 39: James Roberson *District 40: Joe John *District 41: Gale Adcock *District 42: Marvin W. Lucas *District 44: William O. Richardson *District 47: Charles Graham *District 48: Garland E. Pierce *District 49: Cynthia Ball *District 50: Graig R. Meyer *District 54: Robert T. Reives II *District 56: Verla Insko *District 57:

Ashton Clemmons Ashton Wheeler Clemmons (born September 2, 1983) is a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. Clemmons has represented the 57th district (including constituents in north-central Guilford County) since 2019. Education a ...

*District 58: Amos Quick *District 60: Cecil Brockman *District 61:

Pricey Harrison Mary Price "Pricey" Harrison (born August 31, 1958) is an American attorney and politician from North Carolina. Harrison is a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, having first been elected in 2004. She has represented ...

*District 63: Ricky Hurtado *District 71: Evelyn Terry *District 72: Amber Baker *District 88: Mary Belk *District 92: Terry M. Brown Jr. *District 99: Nasif Majeed *District 100: John Autry *District 101:

Carolyn Logan Carolyn Green Logan (born July 5, 1957) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. She has represented the 101st district (including constituents Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mec ...

*District 102: Becky Carney *District 103: Rachel Hunt *District 104: Brandon Lofton *District 105: Wesley Harris *District 106: Carla D. Cunningham *District 107:

Kelly Alexander Kelly M. Alexander Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. He represents the 107th district. During the 2015 legislative session, Alexander is one of 22 African Americans in the North Caro ...

*District 114: Susan C. Fisher *District 115:

John Ager John Curtis Ager Jr. (born 1949) is a former Democratic politician from North Carolina. Ager served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing the 115th district (including constituents in western Buncombe County ...

*District 116: Brian Turner

State Senate

Senate Chamber - North Carolina State Capitol - DSC05955

There are 22 Democratic State Senators. Current senators are listed below: *District 3: Ernestine Bazemore *District 4: Toby Fitch *District 5:

Donald G. Davis Donald Gene Davis (born August 29, 1971) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United ...

*District 14:

*District 15: Jay Chaudhuri *District 16:

Wiley Nickel George Wiley Nickel III (born November 23, 1975) is an American attorney and Democratic politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 13th congressional district since 2023. Nickel served as a member of the North Carolina S ...

*District 17: Sydney Batch *District 18: Sarah Crawford *District 19: Kirk deViere *District 20: Natalie Murdock *District 21: Ben Clark *District 22: Mike Woodard *District 23:

Valerie Foushee Valerie Jean Foushee (née Paige; born May 7, 1956) is an American politician who is a representative-elect to the U.S. House of Representatives and is currently serving as a Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate. Elected to the North C ...

*District 27: Michael Garrett *District 28: Gladys Robinson *District 32: Paul A. Lowe Jr. *District 37: Jeff Jackson *District 38: Mujtaba A. Mohammed *District 39: DeAndrea Salvador *District 40: Joyce Waddell *District 41: Natasha Marcus *District 49: Julie Mayfield

Notes

External links

North Carolina Democratic Party

Young Democrats of North Carolina

NC Senior Dems

High School Democrats of NC
{{Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) by state Democratic Party