Remember. I never said there would be a red wave in last Tuesday’s General Election. I never “count my biddies before they hatch,” as Mom used to say. She played basketball at Maury High School in the 1930s, and like most of us who have had a hand in sports, we know too well that counting a win before it happens is needless hyperbole and outright arrogance, and comes with rude awakenings.
While there wasn’t a red wave in the nation, the same cannot be said for North Carolina. No matter how anyone views this election, there were some serious inroads made into some important aspects of the political infrastructure in North Carolina.
The election of Ted Budd as North Carolina’s junior senator was important to the state’s Congressional delegation. Budd won with 50.71 percent of the vote to Cheri Beasley’s 47.08 percent. However, Budd’s election, it appears, won’t help Republicans recapture the Senate.
The most important races in North Carolina were the races for the state Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court. Republicans took each of those races.
For the two associate justices on the Supreme Court, Judge Richard Dietz (R) defeated Judge Lucy Inman (D) with 52.59 percent of the vote while Judge Trey Allen (R) won over incumbent Judge Sam J. Ervin IV (D) with 52.39 percent of the vote. That moves the high court from a Democrat majority to a 5-2 Republican majority.
The effort to move the court toward conservatism started in 2020. Republican Judge Paul Newby, an associate justice, defeated Chief Justice Cheri Beasley in the race for chief justice, while Republican Judges Phil Berger Jr. and Tamara P. Barringer defeated their Democrat opponents for associate justice seats. In the past two elections, the Democrats have lost five seats on the Supreme Court.
For the Court of Appeals, four Republicans were elected. Judge Donna Stroud (R), the incumbent, defeated Judge Brad A. Salmon with 54.6 percent of the vote. Incumbent Judge John M. Tyson (R) defeated Gale Murray Adams with 52.95 percent of the vote. In a third seat, Judge Julee Tate Flood (R) defeated Judge Carolyn Jennings Thompson (D) with 52.62 percent of the vote. The fourth seat was won by Judge Michael J. Stading (R) over incumbent Judge Darren Jackson (D) with 53.06 percent of the vote. The NC Court of Appeals also has a Republican majority.
There are obviously multiple reasons for the fact voters have turned the high court red. I personally believe voter ID was the leading factor. In 2018, some 56 percent of the North Carolina electorate voted in favor of photo voter ID for elections. The courts have kept the passage of voter ID from being implemented. Voters aren’t happy that courts can overrule the citizens’ vote. That is especially so in light of the fact some 26 states in the United States have successfully implemented photo ID laws. The voters in North Carolina have reversed the court majorities over two elections, and that’s big!
There are other reasons for calling a red wave in the state. Voters elected a veto-proof State Senate and came up one political office shy of a veto-proof State House of Representatives. Can Republicans convince just one Democrat to have the courage to step across the aisle and cross Gov. Cooper? It will be interesting to see.
On the federal level it appears that Democrats will hold the U.S. Senate while Republicans will take back the U.S. House of Representatives. That’s far from a red wave, and in fact, is quite a disappointment to those who fanned the flames of desire that a red wave was in the mix this election. There were some conservatives elected to school boards and to county commissions in the state and across the nation. Pitt County picked up one Republican seat on the county commission. Benji Holloman (R) won the District 4 seat over his Democrat opponent with 54.56 percent of the vote to take a seat that had been held by Democrat Alex Allbright.
Who are the losers in this year’s election? I submit that as technologically advanced as we are in America the losers (again) in this election are the citizens in the states that are involved with late-counted ballots.
Larger electorates with as many or more voters than either Nevada or Arizona counted their ballots within a day. Florida, for example, unofficially counted 3.7 million votes relatively quickly in the 2022 midterm, according to the Secretary of State’s website. Arizona, a state continuing to count ballots this past weekend, voted 3.4 million in the 2020 General Election, according to its Secretary of state’s website. There is no excuse to be counting that long.
Republicans managed to get redder politically in North Carolina, but not so much in races across the nation. That’s why conservative political pundits, radio talk show hosts and television personalities should avoid predicting red or blue waves. Just report the facts. Let the voters decide the particular wave, as they obviously will anyway.
Mitchell Oakley is The Standard’s publisher emeritus.
