Guilford County Democrats were swept into a state and national blue wave Tuesday, defeating Republican opponents in races from Guilford County’s Board of Commissioners and Board of Education to state House and Senate.
N.C. House Minority Leader Robert Reives spent Tuesday morning shuttling from polling sites in Cabarrus, Forsyth, and Guilford counties, glad-handing both local Democratic candidates and voters.
Early in the day, he was tempering expectations.
“I think we went into the cycle thinking we could pick up four extra seats and keep what we have,” Reives told The Assembly outside the Friendly Hills Church polling location in Jamestown.
Flipping control of either the state House or Senate is a tall order due to Republican gerrymandering that has taken place since the GOP took both chambers in 2010, Reives said.
“If every time you lose an election anywhere you’re able to then go in and change those maps to your advantage, that will remain really difficult,” Reives said. “You really do need a wave to overcome that.”
But by the end of the night it was clear Democrats in North Carolina were riding one, flipping the state house to Democratic control and hobbling a GOP supermajority in the Senate.
“North Carolina is no longer going to settle for being number 40 in the South on this, number 30 in the South on that,” Reives said in a Raleigh victory speech Tuesday night. “We’re going to be in the top three in every category we can get in, and making this the best place in the country to live, because people matter.”
There was powerful Democratic enthusiasm this cycle, Reives said—especially from young voters like those at N.C. A&T State University and UNCG, who recently organized multiple marches to the polls after losing their struggle for on-campus early voting sites this year.
“I think they understand the issues that are important to them, they understand what’s at stake, and they’re voting on that.”
N.C. Minority Leader Rep. Robert Reives on student voters
“They have attacked A&T every cycle,” Reives said. “So I was incredibly happy and incredibly proud to see that.”
Younger voters are some of the most perceptive he’s spoken to this year, Reives said.
“They understand what is happening and why it has been happening,” he said. “They are connecting the dots this cycle and understanding better than anyone that you’re not always going to get a perfect candidate.”
After experiencing cycles of “supernova” candidates like presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, Reives said young people are becoming more interested in policy than personality.
“I think they understand the issues that are important to them, they understand what’s at stake, and they’re voting on that,” Reives said.
Rev. Greg Drumwright, the Democratic candidate for the at-large seat on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, benefitted from both the enthusiasm of the youth vote and a strong early voting turnout. Drumwright, an alumnus of N.C. A&T whose Citadel of Praise Church & Campus Ministries has a presence on the campuses of both A&T and UNCG, won commandingly over Republican Mike Perdue, 67% to 33%, according to complete but unofficial results.
Democratic challenger Scott Jones also defeated long-serving incumbent Commissioner Alan Perdue, a Republican who represents District 2, 51% to 49%. Jones narrowly avoided the 1 percent threshold for a recount in a non-statewide race. Democrat Derek Mobley unseated incumbent Republican Commissioner Pat Tillman in District 3, 54% to 43%, with Green Party candidate Jeanine Couto taking about 2%. With those seats changing hands, the county’s top governing board will have no Republicans.
In contested Guilford County Board of Education races, Democrat Khem Irby defeated Republican Maritza Gomez 65% to 35% to retain her District 6 seat. Democrat Ebony Burnett bested Republican Tracy Gaskins 62% to 38% to win the District 4 seat.
Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers also easily defeated Republican challenger Phil Byrd 67% to 33% in the pair’s second matchup.
At the polls across Guilford County Tuesday, voters seemed torn on the candidacy of Shelly Headen, the Democrat challenging incumbent Republican N.C. Rep. John Blust in District 62. Headen was abandoned by House Democrats and local Democratic groups after reporting on her past social media posts calling for violence against Republicans and suggesting Trump supporters should be sexually assaulted.
Some voters in Guilford said they would still cast their votes for her, tired of Republicans supporting their candidates through what they said were much worse scandals.
“You hear that frustration a lot, and I understand it,” Reives said Tuesday. “Especially in the majority party right now, it’s become more acceptable to say a lot of things that used to be unacceptable. I don’t think people are saying they want that out of our candidates, but they’re tired of it being acceptable on one side.”
“I’ve been very unhappy with the breakdown of civility,” Reives said. “I think we can do better than that.”
With all precincts reporting Tuesday evening, Headen narrowly edged out Blust, 50.27% to 49.73% — a difference of just 233 votes. That’s within the margin that would allow Blust to call for a recount when the results are certified on Nov. 13.
Democratic challenger Elma Hairston unseated Republican N.C. Rep. Alan Branson for the House seat in District 59, 52% to 48%.
Democrats also appeared to prevail in three U.S. House districts that represent Guilford.
With all precincts reporting, Chuck Hubbard held a 99-vote lead over long-time GOP incumbent Virginia Foxx in the contest for the 5th congressional district. The margin, less than a percentage point, could allow Foxx to call for a recount.
High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson unseated Republican incumbent Addison McDowell in the 6th congressional district. Democratic challenger Richard N. Ojeda II defeated Republican incumbent Richard Hudson 51% to 49% in the 9th congressional district.
In Greensboro, nearly all bond referenda favored by Democrats passed, though narrowly. The bonds for firefighting facilities, transportation, and housing all passed. Voters rejected a municipal building bond question 58% to 42%.
A Guilford County Local Sales and Use Tax referendum also passed 63% to 37%.
