‘A historic shift’: Dem voter registration dominance crumbling in key swing state

Democrats are facing declining voter rolls in a number of states, but one key battleground state in particular appears to be poised to move from a state that for decades had more registered Democratic voters to one with more registered Republicans.

A decade ago, there were nearly three-quarters of a million more registered Democrats in North Carolina than Republicans. Right now, that difference is just over 1,000, according to the latest tally from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

“Voters across North Carolina are rejecting the Democrats’ failed agenda and choosing Republican leadership,” said Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C. “This change did not happen overnight, it is the result of years of common-sense Republican governance and our desire to propose serious solutions to the problems that matter to the people.”

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Voters make their choices at their voting booths at an early voting site October 17, 2024 in Hendersonville, North Carolina. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Earlier this year, before the series of elections that took place in November that saw the Democratic Party win virtually across the board, including several candidates who ran under the “socialist” banner, a New York Times analysis found that between 2020 and 2024, Democrats lost about 2.1 million registered voters in 30 different states that take into account voter registration data. Meanwhile, the analysis found that Republicans gained about 2.4 million. In total, this represents a deficit for the Democratic Party of 4.5 million registered voters over the past four years.

In North Carolina, specifically, between 2005 and 2015, the difference between the number of registered Republicans and Democrats in North Carolina remained broadly stable, with a difference of roughly 670,000 in 2005 and 2015, respectively. But from 2015, this deficit began to reduce.

Five years later, in 2020, the difference was just under 380,000 in favor of Democrats, before their lead narrowed to just 1,216, according to the latest voter records from the North Carolina Board of Elections.

“The reality is that bad Democratic policies emanating from Washington are alienating voters from the party here at home,” said Michael Whatley, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and Republican Senate candidate in North Carolina.

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“The insane policies supported by Roy Cooper and pushed by Washington, D.C. Democrats like Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris are completely out of step with North Carolinians,” he said. “Democrats couldn’t win the Senate election here even if they had a financial advantage and a huge voter registration advantage. Now they’ve lost that registration advantage as well, and voters are making it clear that they are done with failed Democratic leadership.”

Republican Michael Whatley, left; Democrat Roy Cooper, that’s right. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images; Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

In response to the upward trend in the number of Republican voters in North Carolina, compared to the decline in the number of Democratic voters, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) highlighted the GOP’s overall share of registered voters, which has statistically declined, while the number of unaffiliated voters has increased. However, the increase in unaffiliated voters has impacted both the overall vote share of Republicans and Democrats, with Democrats experiencing a much steeper decline in total registered voters over the past decade, compared to Republicans, the data shows.

“Despite their repeated attempts to gerrymander the state to subvert the will of voters, Republicans have failed to increase their share of registered voters for nearly four decades,” Madison Andrus, DCCC regional spokesperson covering North Carolina, told Fox News Digital when contacted for comment on the changing North Carolina voter rolls.

“Today, with this latest plan in mind, voters across the state are outraged over the failed Republican agenda that has led to higher food prices, more expensive health care and greater difficulty making ends meet. Republicans have abandoned North Carolina’s working families and people are taking notice.”

New York residents who attended the “No Kings” rally in Times Square on Saturday, October 18, 2025 were asked if they were registered to vote. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)

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But according to Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters, North Carolina is “experiencing historic change” and the Democrats’ advantage has “collapsed.”

“Voters rejected Kamala Harris last year, and they are continuing that trend by turning away from the failed policies of Roy Cooper and Josh Stein,” Gruters said.