(The Center Square) – As maintenance of North Carolina’s voter registration rolls continues, Republicans are just over 27,000 behind Democrats – narrowing what was already 105,675 on Nov. 5 as a two-decade trend continues.
Unaffiliated voters remain and are increasing as the state’s largest voting bloc. Of nearly 7.5 million registered voters, more than 2.8 million are unaffiliated, more than 2.3 million are Democrats, and just shy of 2.3 million are Republicans. By percentage, it’s 37.6% unaffiliated, 30.8% Democrats and 30.5% Republicans.
On Election Day 2024, the state’s 7,839,911 registered voters were divided 2,959,006 unaffiliated; 2,452,747 Democrats; and 2,347,072 Republicans. Three weeks ago, Democrats were 30,385 clear of the Grand Old Party, a difference now down to 27,271.
The last three weeks’ pace has Republicans falling further behind unaffiliated registrations and getting closer to surpassing Democrats. If it continued, Republicans would move ahead of Democrats on Memorial Day weekend while their distance to unaffiliateds would grow by more than 40,000 from 537,285.
Democrats trail the unaffiliated bloc by 510,014 and, if the last three weeks pace maintained, could trail by another 68,000 at the unofficial start of summer.
The collapse of domination by Democrats in the state has been steady this century. Republicans in 2010 won both chambers of the General Assembly at the same time for the first time in 140 years, since Reconstruction following the Civil War.
On Jan. 1, 2004, Democrats had 47.6% of the state’s more than 5 million registrations, Republicans had 34.4% and those unaffiliated only numbered 17.7%.
Republicans have only dropped 4%-5% since, hitting 29.8% at the 2018 midterms and this past November’s 29.9%. They got as high as 34.7% on April 1, 2006.
Democrats have steadily fallen, dropping below 40% for the first time on Nov. 8, 2016. Unaffiliated registrations climbed above 20% in 2008, above 30% shortly after the 2016 presidential election, and today are at an all-time high.
