N.C. Republicans still have a suburban problem
But outside of Mecklenburg and Wake, blue outposts are drying up
In any other year, you’d call the 2022 election a great one for Republicans. The GOP comfortably won the two biggest prizes of the night — the U.S. Senate seat and control of the N.C. Supreme Court.
But with the national headwinds blowing firmly in the GOP’s favor, Democrats feared getting wiped out in North Carolina. That didn’t happen. Divided government will continue: Republicans narrowly picked up a supermajority in the state Senate, but failed to garner enough seats in the state House to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. Democrat Wiley Nickel also won the only true toss-up Congressional district.
The reason why: Suburban districts.
To win the 72 seats needed for a supermajority in the N.C. House, Republicans needed to win in suburban areas, small cities, and historically blue outposts in rural areas. They got two out of the three.
Republican Timothy Reeder defeated Democratic Rep. Brian Farkas in Pitt County, home to Greenville. This was a D+3 distric…