Republicans retain majority in NC General Assembly

The Republican party in North Carolina has a lot to celebrate. Pat McCrory will be the next governor, and the Republicans will retain a majority in both chambers of the General Assembly.

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North Carolina House Speaker Pro-Tem Thom Tillis takes the stage at the GOP party in Raleigh on election night. Emily Bowe / Reese News Lab

Early, unofficial results show that Republicans have 77 seats secured in the House and 32 in the Senate while Democrats have 43 and 18, respectively.

Republicans were successful in not only retaining the majority, but actually increasing the majority in both chambers. For the 2011-2012 session, Republicans held a majority with 68-52 in the House and 31-19 in the Senate.

“We are in control of the Governor’s Mansion, the General Assembly, and we have a conservative Supreme Court,” North Carolina House Speaker Pro-Tem Thom Tillis prolaimed to an excited crowd at the GOP party in Raleigh.

This Republican sweep will change the behavior of NC politics from the previous four years. For the 2011-2012 legislature, the Republican Party controlled both chambers while a Democrat filled the governor’s seat.

As a result, party differences hindered the progress of bills on issues such as fracking and the state budget. Gov. Beverly Perdue vetoed both the 2011 and the 2012 state budgets, two of her unprecedented 19 vetoes while in office.

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Icilmay Knight of Raleigh sported her Barack Obama spirit gear at the Democrat party’s Election Day gathering in Raleigh. Caitlin Kleiboer / Reese News Lab

“It’s very upsetting,” Khalia Braswell, a student at NC State, says in reaction to reports that N.C. may have gone for Romney, “I helped out with the NC Obama Campaign over the summer, so especially after what happened in 2008 and how important NC was helping him then, it’s very upsetting to see that it changed.”

While Republicans will occupy both the General Assembly and the governor’s office, more than 29% of legislators will be freshmen. For example, 44 of the elected representatives are newcomers. The cause? Retirement, death and redistricting.