North Carolina State Senate elections, 2026
From Ballotpedia
| 2026 North Carolina Senate Elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | Pending |
| General | November 3, 2026 |
| 2026 Elections |
|---|
| Choose a chamber below: |
Elections for the North Carolina State Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.
The North Carolina State Senate is one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2026. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
Party control
| Party | As of March 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 20 | |
| Republican Party | 30 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 50 |
Candidates
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
This list will be updated after the candidate filing deadline has passed and the official list of candidates becomes available. Please contact us if you notice an official candidate missing from the list or the inclusion of a candidate who withdrew.
Primary
General election
Voting information
- See also: Voting in North Carolina
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Competitiveness
This section will be updated with information about the competitiveness of state legislative elections in North Carolina. For more information about Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
Process to become a candidate
For partisan candidates
See statutes: Chapter 163, Article 10, Section 106 of the North Carolina General Statutes
A partisan candidate must be registered as an affiliate of the party with which he or she intends to campaign. A partisan candidate must also do the following:[1][1]
- file a notice of candidacy with the appropriate board of elections (state or county-level)
- file a felony conviction disclosure form
- provide for payment of required filing fees
Filing fees for primary elections are established by Chapter 163, Article 10, Section 107, of the North Carolina General Statutes. Filing fees formulas are summarized in the table below.[2]
| Filing fees | |
|---|---|
| Office | How the fee is determined |
| Governor | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| Lieutenant governor | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| State executive offices | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| United States Senator | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| United States Representative | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| State senator | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| State representative | 1% of the office's annual salary |
For independent candidates
See statutes: Chapter 163, Article 11, Section 122 of the North Carolina General Statutes
An unaffiliated candidate must file the same forms and pay the same filing fees as partisan candidates. In addition, the candidate must petition to appear on the ballot. Signature requirements are as follows (additional petition requirements are discussed below).[3][4]
| Signature requirements for independent candidates | |
|---|---|
| Office | Signature requirement formula |
| Governor, United States Senator, and other statewide offices | 1.5% of the total number of voters who voted in the most recent general election for governor (must include at least 200 signatures from each of three congressional districts) |
| United States Representative; state House and state Senate seats for districts that cover more than one county | 1.5% of the total number of registered voters in the district as of January 1 of the election year |
| State legislative seats | 4% of the total number of registered voters in the district as of January 1 of the election year |
For write-in candidates
See statutes: Chapter 163, Article 11, Section 123 of the North Carolina General Statutes
To be certified, a write-in candidate must submit a declaration of intent and petition. Signature requirements are as follows (additional petition requirements are discussed below).[5]
| Signature requirements for write-in candidates | |
|---|---|
| Office | Required number of signatures |
| Governor, United States Senator, and other statewide offices | 500 |
| United States Representative; state house and state senate seats for districts that cover more than one county | 250 |
| State house and state senate seats for districts that lie within one county | If there are 5,000 or more registered voters in the district, 100 signatures; if fewer than 5,000, 1% of the number of registered voters |
Write-in candidates do not have to pay filing fees.[6]
Qualifications
Article 2, Section 6 of the North Carolina Constitution states: Each Senator, at the time of his election, shall be not less than 25 years of age, shall be a qualified voter of the State, and shall have resided in the State as a citizen for two years and in the district for which he is chosen for one year immediately preceding his election.
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[7] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $13,951/year | $104/day |
When sworn in
North Carolina legislators assume office on January 1 the year after their election.[8]
North Carolina political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
North Carolina Party Control: 1992-2025
Fourteen years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Presidential politics in North Carolina
2024
- See also: Presidential election, 2024
 |
There were no incumbents in this race The results have been certified. |
Total votes: 5,699,141 |
2020
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
|
Incumbents are bolded and underlined The results have been certified. |
Total votes: 5,524,804 |
2016
- See also: Presidential election, 2016
| U.S. presidential election, North Carolina, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 46.2% | 2,189,316 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
49.8% | 2,362,631 | 15 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 2.7% | 130,126 | 0 | |
| - | Write-in votes | 1.3% | 59,491 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 4,741,564 | 15 | |||
| Election results via: North Carolina State Board of Elections |
North Carolina presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 18 Democratic wins
- 14 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R |
Redistricting following the 2020 census
On October 25, 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted new legislative district boundaries.[9] The legislation adopting the new Senate districts passed the State Senate by a vote of 28-17 and the State House by a vote of 63-40.[10] The legislation adopting the new House districts passed the State Senate by a vote of 27-17 and the State House by a vote of 62-44.[11] All four votes were strictly along party lines with all votes in favor by Republicans and all votes against by Democrats.[12][13][14][15] WUNC's Rusty Jacobs wrote that Catawba College Prof. Michael "Bitzer said Republicans have drawn maps that have a strong chance of preserving their veto-proof super majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Bitzer noted that constitutional provisions, like requiring legislators to keep counties whole when drawing state legislative districts, make it more difficult for lawmakers to gerrymander these maps more aggressively."[16]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 North Carolina General Statutes, "Chapter 163, Article 10, Section 106," accessed December 9, 2013
- ↑ North Carolina General Statutes, "Chapter 163, Article 10, Section 107," accessed December 9, 2013
- ↑ North Carolina General Statutes, "Chapter 163, Article 11, Section 122," accessed December 9, 2013
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Senate Bill 656," accessed October 18, 2017
- ↑ North Carolina General Statutes, "Chapter 163, Article 11, Section 123," accessed December 9, 2013
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Fact Sheet: Write-in Candidates 2014 Election," accessed December 9, 2013
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ North Carolina Constitution, "Article II, Section 9," accessed February 12, 2021
- ↑ The Carolina Journal, "New state House, Senate, and congressional maps finalized," October 25, 2023
- ↑ North Caroliina General Assembly, "Senate Bill 758 / SL 2023-146," accessed October 26, 2023
- ↑ North Caroliina General Assembly, "House Bill 898 / SL 2023-149," accessed October 26, 2023
- ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "House Roll Call Vote Transcript for Roll Call #614," accessed October 26, 2023
- ↑ North Caroliina General Assembly, "Senate Roll Call Vote Transcript for Roll Call #499," accessed October 26, 2023
- ↑ North Caroliina General Assembly, "Senate Roll Call Vote Transcript for Roll Call #504," accessed October 26, 2023
- ↑ North Caroliina General Assembly, "House Roll Call Vote Transcript for Roll Call #604," accessed October 26, 2023
- ↑ WUNC, "New district maps show signs of GOP partisan gerrymandering," October 24, 2023
Leadership
Majority Leader:Paul Newton
Minority Leader:Sydney Batch
Senators
Republican Party (30)
Democratic Party (20)
