By 11 p.m. on election night, top news outlets began calling North Carolina for Romney. With nearly all of the votes counted, results in North Carolina showed Mitt Romney leading President Barack Obama by two points. But it wasn’t enough for the former Massachusetts governor: with wins in other swing states, Obama won the presidency.
As soon as news outlets called Ohio for Obama, someone at the GOP party in Raleigh turned off news coverage of the presidential race. The Republicans celebrated a red North Carolina and the party ended — with no mention of the president.
Democrat Dianne Hanes of Raleigh, NC, said she would sleep well that night.
“The fire here has really warmed my soul,” she said at the Democratic party in Raleigh. “Four more years!”
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Democrat Angela Holloway at the Democratic election night party in Raleigh. Kathryn Carlson/Reese News Lab
NC State student Khalia Braswell said she was disappointed to see Obama lose support in North Carolina, especially after working with the Obama campaign over the summer.
“After what happened in 2008 and how important NC was for helping him then, it’s very upsetting to see that it changed,” she said.
North Carolina became a swing state in 2008 when the state voted for Obama. It was the first time the state voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
At the GOP party near Raleigh, Tom Stark said he hoped Romney would win the election.
“He is really a superstar,” he said. “Everything that he touches turns to gold.”
Romney proved he is “straightforward and down to business” in Tampa, Stark said. Stark is a lawyer in Durham and Chapel Hill.
New York Times blogger Nate Silver credited a Romney advantage in North Carolina to Wake County.
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Shelby Rogers of Knightdale, NC, with a cutout of Mitt Romney at the GOP election night party near Raleigh. Lilly Knoepp / Reese News Lab
At 9:59 he posted on his FiveThirtyEight blog:
“Almost all of Mr. Romney’s advantage can be explained by one county, Wake County, in North Carolina’s Research Triangle. President Obama won it by 64,000 votes in 2008. This year, Mr. Romney leads by 2,000 votes so far.”
Less than half an hour later Wake County’s final data came in. The verdict? Democrat.
Just before 11 p.m. AP and NPR called North Carolina for Romney. CNN followed shortly.
At the GOP party, Jeremy Grissom spoke passionately about getting involved in politics.
“If you’re not involved in politics, then you are doomed to be governed by other people,” the 23-year-old said.
North Carolina, which has 15 electoral votes, was one of 11 states considered undecided by 270towin.com. That label varied, though; on Oct. 24, CNN shifted the state from “toss up” to “lean Romney.” Regardless, North Carolina received a lot of attention from both political parties. Ranked by highest campaign spending by both parties per state, North Carolina is fourth, right behind Florida, Virginia and Ohio. With total North Carolina political ad spending equaling $89 million, Republicans outspent Democrats by $23 million.
Check out WhichWayNC’s interactive history of North Carolina’s presidential vote, showing how the state’s politics and demographics have changed during the past 40 years.
Reporting contributed by Lilly Knoepp and Kathryn Carlson.