How North Carolina emerged as one of Democrats biggest midterm bright spots: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.In today’s edition, Natasha Korecki digs into battleground North Carolina’s massive midterm shift toward Democrats.Plus, our Capitol Hill team has the latest on the Republican leadership elections.— Adam WollnerBreaking news: The Republican-led House narrowly rejected a push to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Read more →How North Carolina emerged as one of Democrats’ biggest midterm bright spotsAnalysis by Natasha KoreckiWith so many competing storylines and surprising outcomes from last week’s midterms, it may have been easy to miss what happened in North Carolina.Democrats have so far managed to flip five seats from red to blue in the Tar Heel State, tied for the most of any state in the country with California, where a redrawn map gave the party a boost.

And with three House races still uncalled in North Carolina, there could be more.Razor-thin margins separate two Republican incumbents, Reps.Greg Murphy and Virginia Foxx, and their Democratic challengers in the 3rd and 5th districts, respectively.

And in the 7th District, GOP Rep.David Rouzer is up by roughly 2,500 votes.This is all happening in a state that hasn’t gone for a Democrat in a presidential race since Barack Obama in 2008, and one that President Donald Trump carried by 3 points in 2024.

But last week, former Gov.Roy Cooper anchored the party’s efforts at the top of the ticket, sailing to victory over former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley by nearly 20 points.

This swing occurred even after Republicans drew a new congressional map in 2025, when they aimed to extend their advantage from 10-4 to 11-3.The mid-decade redistricting effort, spurred on by Trump, backfired spectacularly, as it did in other states.

In addition to the five flips — all in districts Trump carr...