The North Carolina primary elections have altered what the statehouse may look like in November.

Professor of Political Science at University of North Carolina, Wilmington, Aaron King said incumbents usually have an advantage when running for office because of name recognition, a record of accomplishments and organization. King said challengers are able to campaign as an outsider against an incumbent and explain to voters how the incumbent is failing them. 

“I think overall, there’s an increase in the political landscape of some voters who are not happy with the status quo and they’re not happy with the people that are currently in office,” King said. 

Eight incumbent state lawmakers lost their primaries March 3, three Democrats and five Republicans. The results of the competitive District 26 Republican state senate race are still unclear, with incumbent Phil Berger trailing competitor Sam Page by 23 votes. Berger called for a recount. 

Compared to 2024, when only one incumbent state legislator lost in the North Carolina primary, and 2022 when seven incumbent state legislators lost, the 2026 primary is unique because of the Democrats who lost. 

The Republican Party previously had a supermajority in the state legislature but in 2024, Democrats broke that supermajority which gave them the numbers necessary to support Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes. The three Democrat State House incumbents who lost — Carla Cunningham, Nasif Majeed and Shelly Willingham — have crossed party lines to vote with Republicans to override Stein’s vetoes. 

Cunningham, Majeed and Willingham have voted with the Republican majority 84%, 70% and 83% of the time, respectively. 

In the 2025-26 legislative session Majeed voted with Republicans to override Stein’s veto of House Bill 805, which officially recognizes two sexes. Cunningham voted with Republicans to override the veto of House Bill 318, which requires North Carolina sheriffs to work more closely with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. All three politicians joined Republicans to override Stein’s veto of Senate Bill 266, which would eliminate the state’s goal to cut carbon emissions. 

Professor of Political Science at North Carolina State University Steven Greene said voters are voting for candidates loyal to their party. 

“If these were incumbents who had voted to uphold Josh Stein’s vetoes, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Greene said. “It wasn’t about them being incumbents, it was about them being incumbents who were not loyal to their party.”

Patricia Smith defeated Willingham in the Democratic primary election and faces off against Republican Brent Roberson in the general election in November. She was active in the community while campaigning. Smith said she did radio and newspaper advertisements and attended different community events and plans to do the same for the general election.

Smith said if she is elected to the state legislature in November, she would be a team player to address the issues affecting North Carolina. 

“I’m going in as a Democrat and I’m going to vote as a Democrat,” Smith said. “I’m not going to sway. I’m not going to bend and I’m not going to change sides.”

On the Republican side, if Berger were to lose his race, Greene said there would be a major reshuffling within North Carolina politics. 

Berger was endorsed by President Donald Trump and his loss could signal the power of Trump’s endorsement weakening. According to BallotPedia, from 2018-2025 Trump endorsed 684 candidates in primary elections, with an average success rate of 85%. Greene said Trump is strategic about who he endorses, but the Berger race shows there may be limits to his endorsement. 

King said politicians are hesitant to endorse because they do not want to throw their support behind a candidate who may lose.

“Historically, many politicians have been hesitant to put their thumb on the scale in primary elections because you also don’t want to put your name out there, and then back the wrong candidate,” King said. 

Looking to the November elections, Greene said the results of the primary election would encourage legislators to have more party loyalty.