South By North Strategies, Ltd.

The latest issue of North Carolina DataNet, a publication of the UNC Program on Public Life, analyzes voter turnout data from recent elections and explains how the “metropolitanization” of North Carolina is altering the state’s politics. In 2008, for instance,  15 metropolitan counties accounted for 53 percent of all the votes cast in that year’s general election.

Among other findings, the report documented an ongoing shift in the sources of partisan support …

The 2010 elections have highlighted an emerging trend, potentially another shift away from long-standing North Carolina patterns. The Republican Party has picked up rural and nonmetro legislative seats that used to serve as bastions of Democratic legislative strength. Yes, Republicans maintain a strong presence in metro areas, especially suburbs and exurbs, but the GOP now has more of a non-metro tilt than the Democrats.
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The center of gravity in the Democratic Party, meanwhile, now appears in the core counties of the state’s major metro areas. The Democratic legislative minority has a more of a metro than a rural tilt.