North Carolina, Governor
Race Forecast: Leans Democratic
2008: Bev Perdue (D) vs. Pat McCrory (R)
Vote for winner in 2004: 56 percent
North Carolina ’ s open-seat election to succeed Easley as governor pits Democratic Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue against Republican Pat McCrory, the popular seven-term mayor of Charlotte. North Carolina trends Republican in the presidential election, but Democrats have held the governor ’ s office in the state since winning the 1992 election and as of June 30 Perdue had raised nearly five times more money than McCrory ($10.8 million to $2.2 million) and had twice as much money on hand ($1.4 million to $709,000).
Race Information
- Incumbent: Michael Easley, D
- First Elected: 2000 (2nd term)
- Incumbent Status: Term limited; cannot run again
- Challengers: Beverly Perdue, D; Pat McCrory, R; Michael Munger, LIBERT
- Race Forecast: Leans Democratic
State Information
- U.S. Senate Delegation: 1 Democrat, 2 Republicans
- U.S. House Delegation: 8 Democrats, 5 Republicans
- Senators
- Sen. Richard M. Burr, R
- First Elected: 2004 (1st term)
- Last Elected: 2004 (51.6%)
- Sen. Kay Hagan, D
- First Elected: 2008 (1st term)
- State Offices
- State House Control: Democratic
- State Senate Control: Democratic
- Demographics (2000 census)
- Population (2005): 8,683,242
- Under 18: 24.4%
- Over 65: 12.0%
- Non-Hispanic White: 70.2%
- Black: 21.4%
- Hispanic: 4.7%
- Asian: 1.4%
- American Indian: 1.2%
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.0%
- Median Household Income: 39,184
- Median Household Income Rank: 32
| Year | Election | Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | general | Beverly Perdue (D) | 2,121,320 | 50.2% |
| Pat McCrory (R) | 1,980,769 | 46.9% | ||
| Michael Munger (LIBERT) | 120,876 | 2.9% | ||
| 2004 | general | Michael Easley (D) | 1,939,154 | 55.6% |
| Patrick Ballantine (R) | 1,495,021 | 42.9% | ||
| Barbara Howe (LIBERT) | 52,513 | 1.5% | ||
| 2000 | general | Michael Easley (D) | 1,530,324 | 52% |
| Richard Vinroot (R) | 1,360,960 | 46.3% | ||
| Barbara Howe (LIBERT) | 42,674 | 1.4% | ||
| Douglas Schell (REF) | 8,104 | 0.3% | ||
| 1996 | general | James B. "Jim" Hunt Jr. (D) | 1,436,638 | 56% |
| Robin Hayes (R) | 1,097,053 | 42.8% | ||
| Scott D. Yost (LIBERT) | 17,559 | 0.7% | ||
| Julia Van Witt (NL) | 14,792 | 0.6% | ||
| Deborah Reid (Write-In) | 143 | |||
| 1992 | general | James B. Hunt Jr. (D) | 1,368,246 | 52.7% |
| Jim Gardner (R) | 1,121,955 | 43.2% | ||
| Scott McLaughlin (LIBERT) | 104,983 | 4% | ||
| Year | Democrat | Republican | Independent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | John Kerry: 44% | George W. Bush: 56% | |
| 2000 | Al Gore: 43% | George W. Bush: 56% | |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton: 44% | Robert Dole: 49% | |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton: 43% | George H. W. Bush: 43% |
