What you need to know ahead of NC legislature election

With Nov. 3 only three days away, the 2020 elections are almost here. In North Carolina, many elected officials are on the ballot, including representation in the state legislature. WRAL has all you need to know about the state House of Representative and Senate elections.

In North Carolina, all 120 state House of Representatives are up for election. The House currently is majority Republican, with the party holding 65 seats while the Democrats currently have 55. In order for control of the House to flip, all current seats need to be held, with six districts switching from Republican to Democrat control.

The House has been held by Republicans since 2010. Historically, control has switched between the Democratic and Republican parties. From 2004-2010, Democrats held the House. The 65 seats that the party holds is the least since 2010-2012, when Republicans held the majority.

All 50 seats in the North Carolina Senate race are up for election every two years. Senators represent citizens across the state from districts larger than those of North Carolina House of Representatives. Historically, the North Carolina Senate has been controlled by members of the Democratic party. However, in a major shift, the 2010 midterm election led to a veto-proof supermajority held by the Republican party until 2018 when the Democrats picked up seats reducing the majority from 35:15 to 29:21.

The newly redrawn districts are expected to change a few races from what would have been a safe Republican victory into a highly competitive face-off or a Democrat win. Additionally, twelve of the fifty senate races do not have an incumbent competing for office on Nov. 3 which is higher than usual. Both of these factors will contribute to an election day where results may be unexpected.