RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s state House Democrats have flipped the chamber after 16 years of Republican control, according to unofficial election results Tuesday night.

Democrats quickly claimed victory.

“There are counts to be had, but I’ve got one thing to guarantee for you tonight, North Carolina. In January 2027, the North Carolina House of Representatives will be under Democratic control,” House Minority Leader Robert Reives told supporters at a Democratic victory party Tuesday night for Roy Cooper, who won his race for U.S. Senate. Reives was introduced as the next House speaker.

“Next year on the House floor, I might be able to talk a little bit longer,” Reives joked.

Every single seat in the General Assembly was on ballots: 120 in the House and 50 in the Senate. And after 16 years of controlling both chambers, Republicans have lost significant ground to Democrats in the House. They appear to have maintained a majority in the Senate, but lost their supermajority.

With control of the legislature at stake, and Republicans faced “a strong headwind,” according to a longtime GOP strategist, going off of turnout favoring Democrats along with disapproval of President Donald Trump, especially from unaffiliated voters.

Several state House seats had flipped from Republican to Democrat, including two key races in Wake County.

The final count with all precincts reporting show a House as of 2027 that will have 70 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and one unaffiliated representative, April Montgomery, a newcomer who won her race, if all results stand. But a handful of races are close enough to the 1% threshold for a recount.

House Republican incumbents lose races to Democrats

Republican Rep. Erin Paré conceded her race to Democrat Winn Decker around 10:30 p.m., saying she was proud of what she accomplished and is “looking ahead to future opportunities to serve our state, (stay tuned).”

Paré said in a statement on social media that she is “feeling positive despite the outcome of the election. There is a lot of work to still do. I am very thankful for the opportunity to serve.”

In unofficial results with all 23 precincts reporting, Republican Rep. Allen Chesser of Nash County lost to Democrat Lorenza Wilkins, 52% to 44%.

Another incumbent Republican, Rep. Donna McDowell White of Johnston County, lost to L’Bertrice Solomon, 52% to 47% in unofficial results with all precincts reporting.

These are the other House Republicans who lost their races to Democrats, with all precincts reporting, according to unofficial results:

—Rep. Brian Echevarria

—Rep. Tricia Cotham

—Rep. Jonathan Almond

—Rep. Jeff Zenger

—Rep. Donny Lambeth

—Rep. Donnie Loftis

—Rep. Anna Ferguson

—Rep. Mike Schietzelt

—Rep. Alan Branson

—Rep. Timothy Reeder, whose race is within the threshold for a recount.

Republicans have controlled the General Assembly since the 2010 election. Going into this election, they are just one vote short of a supermajority in the House, with 71 votes. There are also two Democrat-turned unaffiliated representatives.

Senate Republicans lose supermajority, chamber nearly tied

These are the Senate Republicans who lost their races, according to unofficial results:

—Sen. Michael Lee

—Sen. Lisa Barnes

—Sen. Buck Newton

—Former Rep. Kevin Crutchfield, who was hoping to keep the seat Republican

Lee has also been campaigning to become the next Senate president pro tempore, assuming Republicans maintain control, after longtime Senate leader Phil Berger lost his primary in March.

Another incumbent Republican, Sen. Danny Britt, won 50.24% to Democrat Catina Hamm’s 49.76%, according to unofficial results, though that is in the 1% threshold for a recount.

If results become official, the Senate would have 26 Republicans to 24 Democrats, with the GOP having a majority by two seats.

If Democrats win 25 races, they would tie Republicans in the Senate. Democratic Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt would cast a vote in any tied vote on legislation.

Democrats cheer

At a Democratic watch party in Wake Forest, Sen. Haseeb Fatmi came to the Norse Brewing Company just as the Associated Press called NC Senate District 18 in his favor. The crowd cheered, with one man shouting for a second time, “it’s a great day to be a Democrat!”

Fatmi was appointed to fill the seat of former Sen. Terence Everitt, also a Democrat, so the seat does not change parties.

Fatmi said his few months in the Senate have allowed him to start building relationships with Republicans. His priorities are affordability, clean running water, healthcare, education and ending partisan gerrymandering.

There was another round of cheers as Fatmi announced the AP had called the House District 37 race for Democrat Evonne Hopkins, defeating Republican incumbent Schietzelt.

N.C. Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton took the stage Tuesday night before returns rolled in at a downtown Raleigh victory party for former Gov. Roy Cooper in the U.S. Senate race, with a promise to voters of “the possibility to create a new South.”

She told attendees that “we are going to flip the North Carolina state House today.” If Democrats do indeed take the House, Clayton said, they would focus on raising the minimum wage and solving what she calls a “childcare crisis” in the state.

With a majority of results in, Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch of Apex also spoke to the crowd at Cooper’s victory party.

“Republicans tried their damndest to buy this election, with maps they rigged for themselves and an ungodly amount of dark money. But tonight, voters told them North Carolina is not for sale,” Batch said.

“We’ve lived to ignore our fair share of chaos over the past 16 years of GOP control, but tonight, we can say with our whole chest, we stop waiting for someone else to save us. We save ourselves,” she told supporters.

Earlier in the day, Republican House Speaker Destin Hall campaigned in Cabarrus and Wake counties, including at a polling place in Fuquay-Varina with Paré. Hall watched election returns in Raleigh.

What control of the legislature means for bills

Whichever party controls a chamber also gets to decide what legislation gets a committee hearing or comes to the floor for a vote. Leaders of the majority party decide who chairs various committees, and they are also the top writers of the state budget.

If Republicans lose a chamber, it would be the first time the House or Senate switched parties since the GOP took control of both in the 2010 election.

_____

(Reporter Jane Winik Sartwell contributed.)

_____

©2026 The News & Observer. Visit at newsobserver.com. Distributed at Tribune Content Agency, LLC.