How North Carolina has voted since 1960

North Carolina has 16 electoral votes in 2028, and at the current pace of population change it would gain one electoral vote after the 2030 census. Since 1960 it has voted Democratic 4 times and Republican 13 times. It has backed the national winner in 13 of 17 elections. Donald Trump carried it in 2024 by 3.2 points, 1.7 points more Republican than the nation. In 2024, 70.6% of its eligible voters cast a ballot, ranking 12th among the 50 states and DC (nationally, 64.3%). It has voted Republican in every election since 2012. Its closest result was in 2008, when Barack Obama won it by 14,177 votes.

  1. 1960Kennedy+4.2
  2. 1964Johnson+12.3
  3. 1968Nixon+10.3
  4. 1972Nixon+40.6
  5. 1976Carter+11.1
  6. 1980Reagan+2.1
  7. 1984Reagan+24.0
  8. 1988Bush+16.3
  9. 1992Bush+0.8
  10. 1996Dole+4.7
  11. 2000Bush+12.8
  12. 2004Bush+12.4
  13. 2008Obama+0.3
  14. 2012Romney+2.0
  15. 2016Trump+3.7
  16. 2020Trump+1.3
  17. 2024Trump+3.2

Each box is one election: the winner in North Carolina and the margin in points. Darker boxes were won by 10 points or more, lighter by under 5.

Election night

7:30 p.m. ET

Polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Also closing at 7:30 p.m. ET: OH, WV.

Times from the 2024 general election; states rarely change them, and they will be confirmed for 2028.

2028 ratings

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In Congress

Senate

House: 10 Republicans, 4 Democrats

All 14 members
  1. 1 Donald G. Davis (D)
  2. 2 Deborah K. Ross (D)
  3. 3 Gregory F. Murphy (R)
  4. 4 Valerie P. Foushee (D)
  5. 5 Virginia Foxx (R)
  6. 6 Addison P. McDowell (R)
  7. 7 David Rouzer (R)
  8. 8 Mark Harris (R)
  9. 9 Richard Hudson (R)
  10. 10 Pat Harrigan (R)
  11. 11 Chuck Edwards (R)
  12. 12 Alma S. Adams (D)
  13. 13 Brad Knott (R)
  14. 14 Tim Moore (R)

From Congress.gov, as of Oct. 5, 2026. Vacant seats are not listed.

Margin by election

North Carolina margin by electionBars show the Democratic or Republican margin in North Carolina in each election since 1960; the line shows the national popular-vote margin. The table below has every figure.R+50R+30R+10D+10D+30D+501960: D+4.2 (nation D+0.2)'601964: D+12.3 (nation D+22.6)'641968: R+10.3 (nation R+0.7)'681972: R+40.6 (nation R+23.2)'721976: D+11.1 (nation D+2.1)'761980: R+2.1 (nation R+9.7)'801984: R+24.0 (nation R+18.2)'841988: R+16.3 (nation R+7.7)'881992: R+0.8 (nation D+5.6)'921996: R+4.7 (nation D+8.5)'962000: R+12.8 (nation D+0.5)'002004: R+12.4 (nation R+2.5)'042008: D+0.3 (nation D+7.3)'082012: R+2.0 (nation D+3.9)'122016: R+3.7 (nation D+2.1)'162020: R+1.3 (nation D+4.5)'202024: R+3.2 (nation R+1.5)'24

North Carolina margin National popular vote

By county

Donald Trump won 78 of North Carolina's 100 counties in 2024; Kamala Harris won 22.

Loading the county map…

Largest counties, 2024

CountyVotesMarginShift from 2020
Wake County653,580D+25.4→D 18.8
Mecklenburg County577,505D+32.7→D 23.9
Guilford County285,053D+21.8→D 16.0
Forsyth County204,726D+13.1→D 9.6
Durham County180,912D+61.7→D 46.1
Buncombe County160,510D+24.7→D 19.4
Cumberland County140,513D+13.4→D 9.2
Union County139,355R+25.2→R 19.1
New Hanover County138,734D+0.6→D 0.1
Johnston County124,678R+21.5→R 15.4

Biggest shifts from 2020 to 2024: toward the Republican, Graham County (48.7), Yadkin County (47.0), Wilkes County (45.4); toward the Democrat, Durham County (46.1), Orange County (38.1), Mecklenburg County (23.9) — in points of margin.

County returns from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (official state data), 2000–2024. Margin is the Democrat's share minus the Republican's, of all votes cast.

Results by year

YearWinnerDemocratRepublicanOtherMarginNationTurnoutEV
2024 Donald TrumpTrumpHarris 47.7%2,715,375Trump 50.9%2,898,4231.5%R+3.2R+1.570.6%16
2020 Donald TrumpTrump lostBiden 48.6%2,684,292Trump 49.9%2,758,7751.5%R+1.3D+4.571.0%15
2016 Donald TrumpTrumpClinton 46.2%2,189,316Trump 49.8%2,362,6314.0%R+3.7D+2.164.7%15
2012 Mitt RomneyRomney lostObama 48.4%2,178,391Romney 50.4%2,270,3951.3%R+2.0D+3.965.3%15
2008 Barack ObamaObamaObama 49.7%2,142,651McCain 49.4%2,128,4740.9%D+0.3D+7.366.2%15
2004 George W. BushBushKerry 43.6%1,525,849Bush 56.0%1,961,1660.4%R+12.4R+2.558.6%15
2000 George W. BushBushGore 43.2%1,257,692Bush 56.0%1,631,1630.9%R+12.8D+0.552.2%14
1996 Bob DoleDole lostClinton 44.0%1,107,849Dole 48.7%1,225,938Perot 6.7%R+4.7D+8.546.3%14
1992 George H.W. BushBush lostClinton 42.7%1,114,042Bush 43.4%1,134,661Perot 13.7%R+0.8D+5.651.5%14
1988 George H.W. BushBushDukakis 41.7%890,167Bush 58.0%1,237,2580.3%R+16.3R+7.744.5%13
1984 Ronald ReaganReaganMondale 37.9%824,287Reagan 61.9%1,346,4810.2%R+24.0R+18.248.2%13
1980 Ronald ReaganReaganCarter 47.2%875,635Reagan 49.3%915,0183.5%R+2.1R+9.744.2%13
1976 Jimmy CarterCarterCarter 55.3%927,365Ford 44.2%741,9600.5%D+11.1D+2.1—13
1972 Richard NixonNixonMcGovern 28.9%Nixon 69.5%1.7%R+40.6R+23.2—13
1968 Richard NixonNixonHumphrey 29.2%Nixon 39.5%Wallace 31.3%R+10.3R+0.7—13*
1964 Lyndon B. JohnsonJohnsonJohnson 56.2%Goldwater 43.9%0.0%D+12.3D+22.6—13
1960 John F. KennedyKennedyKennedy 52.1%Nixon 47.9%0.0%D+4.2D+0.2—14

Margin is the Democrat's share minus the Republican's, in percentage points; Nation is the same for the national popular vote. "Other" is everyone else combined, or the leading third-party candidate where one took 5% or more. Vote counts from 1976. Turnout is ballots cast as a share of eligible voters, from 1980 (UF Election Lab; the newest year is preliminary).

  • 1968: One Republican elector, Lloyd W. Bailey, voted for George Wallace instead of Nixon.

Electoral votes

Electoral votes change after each census, when House seats are reapportioned.

  • 1419601950 census
  • 131964–19681960 census
  • 131972–19801970 census
  • 131984–19881980 census
  • 141992–20001990 census
  • 152004–20082000 census
  • 152012–20202010 census
  • 162024–20282020 census
  • 172032–2040projected

Projected: North Carolina's share of House seats after the 2030 census if each state's population keeps changing at its pace since 2020, from the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey population estimates (July 1, 2024). If the count were taken today it would have 16. An estimate, not a forecast.

Before 1960

North Carolina cast electoral votes in 41 presidential elections before 1960, the first in 1792. It backed the eventual president in 26 of them. It cast no electoral votes in 1864.

YearCarried byElectorsMarginBacked winner
1956Adlai Stevenson Democratic14+1.3–
1952Adlai Stevenson Democratic14+7.8–
1948Harry S. Truman Democratic14+25.5✓
1944Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic14+33.4✓
1940Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic13+48.1✓
1936Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic13+46.8✓
1932Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic13+41.0✓
1928Herbert Hoover Republican12+9.7✓
1924John W. Davis Democratic12+19.2–
1920James M. Cox Democratic12+13.5–
1916Woodrow Wilson Democratic12+16.4✓
1912Woodrow Wilson Democratic12+30.9✓
1908William Jennings Bryan Democratic12+8.8–
1904Alton B. Parker Democratic12+20.2–
1900William Jennings Bryan Democratic11+8.5–
1896William Jennings Bryan Democratic-Populist11+5.9–
1892Grover Cleveland Democratic11+11.8✓
1888Grover Cleveland Democratic11+4.8–
1884Grover Cleveland Democratic11+6.7✓
1880Winfield S. Hancock Democratic10+3.6–
1876Samuel J. Tilden Democratic10+7.2–
1872Ulysses S. Grant Republican10+14.9✓
1868Ulysses S. Grant Republican9+6.8✓
1860John C. Breckinridge Southern Democratic10+3.9–
1856James Buchanan Democratic10+13.6✓
1852Franklin Pierce Democratic10+0.9✓
1848Zachary Taylor Whig11+10.4✓
1844Henry Clay Whig11+4.8–
1840William Henry Harrison Whig15+15.4✓
1836Martin Van Buren Democratic15+6.2✓
1832Andrew Jackson Democratic15+69.5✓
1828Andrew Jackson Democratic15+46.2✓
1824Andrew Jackson Democratic-Republican15+12.9–
1820James Monroe Democratic-Republican15—✓
1816James Monroe Democratic-Republican15—✓
1812James Madison Democratic-Republican15—✓
1808James Madison Democratic-RepublicanSplit: Madison 11, Pinckney 314—✓
1804Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican14—✓
1800Thomas Jefferson Democratic-RepublicanVotes (two per elector): Jefferson 8, Burr 8, Adams 4, Pinckney 412—✓
1796Thomas Jefferson Democratic-RepublicanVotes (two per elector): Jefferson 11, Burr 6, Iredell 3, Adams 1, Pinckney 1, Washington 1, Pinckney 112—–
1792George WashingtonVotes (two per elector): Washington 12, Clinton 1212—✓

Margin: the winner's lead over the runner-up in the state's popular vote, in points. A dash means the legislature chose the electors (common before the 1830s) or no popular vote is on record. Each year links to that election's map and full results.