Did the 2022 Midterm Election Result in a Mini ‘Red Wave’ in North Carolina? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Brittany Raymer.

    North Carolina experiences a mini "red wave," as the Republicans have a strong showing for the General Assembly and for the state's supreme court. However, Republicans had a dismal night nationally and failed to capitalize on the country's general discontent and economic uncertainty.

    As the dust continues to settle, it appears that the "red wave" or even the "red tsunami" that many pollsters were anticipating failed materialized at a national level. Though Republicans still have a decent shot at retaking the House, the Senate is looking less and less like a possibility.

    Some of the more interesting national races includes Democrat John Fetterman's victory in Pennsylvania, despite struggling to recover from his stroke, and Republican Ron DeSantis' blowout triumph in Florida. Many believe his success will give him a great platform as the 2024 candidate for the GOP nomination. There's also the defeat of two- and three-time failed candidates Stacey Abrams and Beto O'Rourke for the gubernatorial seats in Georgia and Texas, respectively.

    Over the next month, most political eyes will turn to Georgia, where there will once again be a runoff between the Republican and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat. This could once again determine the power of the chamber.

    But when it comes to the Tar Heel State, the results of the Midterm 2022 elections were a bit of a mixed bag. While Republicans managed to gain a super majority in the state Senate, they came up one seat short in the House. This will allow the General Assembly to act as a critical check and balance to Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper.

    North Carolina's Supreme Court has also switched from a Democrat ruled 4-3 to a Republican majority of 5-2. This change could have large ramifications for state policy, especially the never-ending education related Leandro court case.

    "With control of the court, Republicans polices will no longer be constantly blocked by a hyper-partisan Democrat controlled high court," political analyst Dallas Woodhouse told The Carolina Journal. "Republicans in the State legislature will once again draw new legislative and congressional districts, but this time the GOP dominated court is likely to approve the new maps. Republicans can expect to cement GOP gains in the legislature and reverse Democrat gains in congressional seats in 2024."

    Though the Republicans had a good night for local governments in North Carolina, for the national stage it was more mixed.

    Republican Ted Budd secured a 4-point victory over Democrat Cheri Beasley for the U.S. Senate seat, which keeps it in the hands of the GOP.

    But in the Congressional races, Republicans mostly came up short.

    Republican Bo Hines failed to pull out a victory over Democrat State Senator Wiley Nickel in the 13th Congressional district, with a margin of less than 7,300 votes. Congressional District 1, which was another closely watched race, also went to a Democrat.

    Despite the races seeming to tighten and lean Republicans in the final days, it appears that most of the pollsters were wrong. Now, as the final tallies are being taken, the real work of governance begins.