From Powerhouse to Punchline: The North Carolina G.O.P. Implosion

Republicans in North Carolina saw their state as a firewall, gerrymandered to protect incumbents even if Democrats kept winning the governorship. This week, the wall shattered.

A sheriff known for his anti-immigration views lost to a pastor promising to rebuild trust with immigrants. A Black man was elected sheriff in a largely white, rural and conservative county.

A candidate who previously lost two federal races defeated the powerful chairman of the House Republican campaign arm. And the State House, in Republican hands since 2011, shifted into Democratic near-supermajority control.

All of this happened in North Carolina, a state known in recent years for breaking Democrats' hearts. On Tuesday, it became ground zero of the Republican Party's implosion. Perhaps in no other state was the Democratic drubbing quite so complete, from the U.S. Senate and House to a small county commission race.

"What we saw at the lower levels downballot is not purely a reflection of the national mood," said Andrew Dunn, a conservative columnist and author in the state. "I think you also have to interpret it as a repudiation of the Republican Party in North Carolina."

The swing state had long been viewed as a Republican firewall, especially for federal races. No Democratic presidential or Senate candidate had won in the state since 2008.

Since reclaiming control of Raleigh 15 years ago, conservatives had an easy time governing. The era was shepherded by Senator Thom Tillis, the former speaker of the State House, and Phil Berger, the longstanding leader of the State Senate and most powerful politician in North Carolina. They lowered taxes, encouraged business growth and brushed off Democratic lawmakers like dust bunnies.

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