by
Brooks Pierce
on
[Author: Ed Turlington]
Over 4.5 million North Carolinians voted in the 2012 general election
on Tuesday, November 6, and those voters made a number of important
decisions. This article gives a brief overview of what happened with
some discussion of the implications of the election results.
President
President Barack Obama was reelected nationally although former Governor Mitt Romney carried North Carolina by 50% to 48%.
Congressional Delegation
Eight incumbents were reelected.Republicans
- Renee Elmers (2nd CD)
- Walter Jones (3rd CD)
- Virginia Foxx (5th CD)
- Howard Coble (6th CD)
- Patrick McHenry (10th CD)
- GK Butterfield (1st CD)
- David Price (4th CD)
- Mel Watt (13th CD)
New members are marketing consultant and former Congressional staffer
Richard Hudson (R-8th CD), who defeated incumbent Democrat Larry
Kissell; former State Senator Robert Pittenger (R-9th CD); businessman
Mark Meadows (R-11th CD); and former US Attorney George Holding (R-13th
CD).
Incumbent Mike McIntyre (D) holds a 507 vote margin over State Senator
David Rouzer (R) in the 7th district race. A number of ballots are yet
to be counted.
Prior to the election, Democrats held a 7 to 6 margin in the State’s US
House delegation. After the election, the Republicans will hold a
majority of at least 9 to 4.
Governor Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory (R)
defeated Lt. Governor Walter Dalton (D) with 55% of the vote. McCrory is
moving aggressively on his transition with a press conference in
Charlotte on Wednesday, November 7 and a trip to Raleigh on Thursday,
November 8 to meet with Governor Beverly Perdue and to begin work on his
transition to office. He will be sworn in on January 12.
Lt. Governor In a close race, Raleigh businessman Dan
Forest (R) leads former State legislator and State Personnel Director
Linda Coleman (D) by about 11,000 votes. Forest has served as a senior
partner in an architectural firm and is a graduate of UNC-Charlotte. He
is the son of Congresswoman Sue Myrick of Charlotte. This race may be
headed for a recount.
Council of State Eight incumbents were elected to Council of State offices
.
Democrats reelected were Attorney General Roy Cooper, Auditor Beth
Wood, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, Secretary of State Elaine
Marshall, Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson and
Treasurer Janet Cowell.
Republicans reelected were Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry.
General Assembly The Republicans increased their
majorities in both houses of the Legislature.
It appears that their
margin will grow by 1 in the Senate to 32 to 18 (this margin assumes
that Democratic Senator Stan White will hold on to a slim lead in his
race) and will grow by 9 in the House to 77 to 43. The General Assembly
meets for an organizational session on January 9 and reconvenes for a
regular session on January 30. Prior to that time, various important
study committees are working on bills that will be introduced next year.
Key Legislative leaders have already indicated that a number of issues
will get attention in 2013. Some, such as regulatory reform and
increasing energy exploration, build on efforts from the prior two
years, while others, such as tax modernization, will get new emphasis.
Senator Bob Rucho (R-Mecklenburg), Co-Chair of the Finance Committee,
has been discussing tax modernization for months and speaking favorably
about reducing or eliminating both the corporate and personal income tax
with some corresponding adjustments in the State sales tax (for
example, broadening its coverage to more services) and eliminating
various economic incentives. Many observers believe that a tax
modernization bill will be introduced when the General Assembly
reconvenes in January. Governor-elect McCrory has also indicated that
rewriting the State tax code is on his agenda.
Other issues that will likely get attention in 2013 are the
unemployment insurance fund, Medicaid reform, education, transportation
and privatization of additional State services.
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