North Carolinians are voting Tuesday in 170 races for the state House and Senate, and the result could determine whether Republicans keep control of the General Assembly. Josh Stein enters the count with a stake in one chamber more than the other: Democrats are not expected to take the Senate, but they could still alter the House and his veto leverage.
Republicans hold 30 of 50 seats in the Senate and 71 of 120 in the House. Democrats need to gain 14 seats to flip the House, which is why the closest contests matter most in districts that can move the balance without touching the Senate at all.
Triangle House seats
State House races in and near the Triangle are expected to be among North Carolina’s closest contests, and a breakdown of the 170 General Assembly races points to the same battleground map across the state. Fourteen Republican-held House seats are in districts where at least 44% of voters backed Joe Biden for President in 2020, giving Democrats a narrow path if they can convert enough of those districts.
That path runs through numbers, not momentum. Republicans have held enough seats in the state House and Senate for almost a decade to pass many of their proposals with ease, and Democrats have not controlled either chamber since 2010.
Josh Stein and veto power
The practical consequence for Josh Stein is simple: if Democrats pick up enough House seats, they could strengthen his veto power even without taking the Senate. Republicans already hold a veto-proof majority in the Senate, so the House is the chamber where seat gains could still change what the governor can block.
That same dynamic has already shaped recent legislative action. In early October, Republican state legislative leaders called a special session to suspend the state gas tax through the end of November, and the legislation passed with bipartisan support. The tax is 41 cents per gallon.
North Carolina vote count
The election also comes after a WRAL/WSOC Poll last month found that 37% of likely voters statewide approved of the job Donald Trump has been doing since he reentered the White House. The result on Tuesday will decide whether Republicans keep control of the General Assembly and whether Democrats can get close enough in the House to matter for Josh Stein’s veto power.
If Democrats fall short of the 14 seats they need, Republicans keep the same governing structure they have used for years. If they reach that threshold, the House becomes the chamber where the balance of power changes first.
