Live stream: Democrats set to take control of NC House, narrowly trail in Senate

RALEIGH, N.C. (WBTV) - Democrats are set to take control of the North Carolina House of Representatives after voters rejected Republicans in typically safe seats across the state. It will be the first time since 2010 that Democrats control the state house.

Gov. Josh Stein was scheduled to hold a post-election news conference at 1 p.m. His remarks will be streamed live in the top of this story.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Democrats were leading in 71 House races, nearly giving them a supermajority. Republicans currently have 71 seats and had a 72-seat supermajority as recently has 2024.

Democrats also made major gains in the state Senate, but current election results show them trailing 24-26.

State Senator Danny Britt (R-Robeson) is narrowly winning by 268 votes, preventing Democrats from having a majority in both chambers. That race is likely headed to a recount. If Democrats won the seat, it would effectively give them a majority with Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt casting tie breaking votes.

The unpopularity of President Donald Trump and the wide margin of victory in the Senate race by former Governor Roy Cooper appeared to help Democrats down the ballot in districts previously thought to be uncompetitive.

During an election night rally in Raleigh, House Minority Leader Robert Reives (D-Chatham, Randolph) was almost in disbelief at the dramatic changing of the guard.

“Oh my God I don’t know what to say,” Reives told a crowd of raucous democrats Tuesday night.

“We have heard you, we have listened and you wanted relief and a relief is on its way,” Reives said.

Speaker of the House Destin Hall (R-Caldwell, Watauga) issued a statement saying he congratulated Reives while also pointing out the challenging election climate for his party.

“All across the country during this election cycle, Republicans faced the worst political environment of our lifetimes. I’m proud of the hard work of House Republican members and candidates all across our state who fought against insurmountable odds,” Hall wrote in a statement.

Republicans in the General Assembly made substantial efforts to try and bolster candidates in what were thought to be competitive districts. State Representatives Erin Paré (R-Wake) and Brian Echevarria (R-Cabarrus) took the lead in pushing for a constitutional amendment to limit property tax increases.

While the property tax amendment passed statewide, Echevarria lost by double digits to Democrat Chris Bishopp and Paré lost by 9 points to Democrat Winn Decker.

Democrats will not take control until newly elected officials are sworn in in January. That will give Republicans in the General Assembly time to start a new session and enact changes to state policy before losing power.