2010 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina

2010 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina

November 2, 2010
All 13 North Carolina seats in the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 8 5 Seats won 7 6 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 1,204,635 1,440,913 Percentage 45.25% 54.13% Swing 9.18% 9.01%
Democratic   50–60%   60–70% Republican   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

Elections were held on November 2, 2010, to determine North Carolina's 13 members of the United States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year-terms to serve in the 112th United States Congress from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. Primary elections were held on May 4, 2010, and primary runoff elections were held on June 22, 2010.

Of the 13 elections, the races in the 2nd, 8th and 11th districts were rated as competitive by Sabato's Crystal Ball, while the 2nd, 7th, 8th and 11th districts were rated as competitive by CQ Politics and The Rothenberg Political Report, and the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th and 11th districts were rated as competitive by The Cook Political Report. Of North Carolina's 13 incumbents, 12 were re-elected while one (Bob Etheridge of the 2nd district) unsuccessfully sought re-election.

In total, seven Democrats and six Republicans were elected. A total of 2,662,529 votes were cast, of which 1,440,913 (54.12 percent) were for Republican candidates, 1,204,635 (45.24 percent) were for Democratic candidates, 16,562 (0.62 percent) were for Libertarian candidates and 439 (0.02 percent) were for write-in candidates. As of 2023, this is the last time that Democrats won a majority of North Carolina's congressional districts. North Carolina was one of two states (along with New Jersey) where the party that won the most seats did not win the most votes in the state.

Overview

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina by district:

District 1

The 1st district included parts of Goldsboro, Greenville, Rocky Mount and Wilson. The district's population was 50 percent black and 44 percent white (see race and ethnicity in the United States census); 76 percent were high school graduates and 13 percent had received a bachelor's degree or higher. Its median income was $32,216. In the 2008 presidential election the district gave 63 percent of its vote to Democratic nominee Barack Obama and 37 percent to Republican nominee John McCain.

Democrat G. K. Butterfield, who took office in 2004, was the incumbent. Butterfield was re-elected in 2008 with 70 percent of the vote. In 2010 Butterfield's opponent in the general election was Republican nominee Ashley Woolard, an insurance executive. Chad Larkins, a contractor, also sought the Democratic nomination. John Carter, a U.S. Air Force veteran; Jerry Grimes, an assistant pastor and ethics instructor; and James Gordon Miller also sought the Republican nomination.

Butterfield raised $828,117 and spent $794,383. Woolard raised $133,394 and spent $133,387. Larkins raised $450 and spent no money. Grimes raised $11,747 and spent $10,752.

Prior to the election FiveThirtyEight's forecast gave Butterfield a 100 percent chance of winning and projected that he would receive 63 percent of the vote to Woolard's 35 percent. On election day Butterfield was re-elected with 59 percent of the vote to Woolard's 41 percent. Butterfield was again re-elected in 2012 and 2014.

Democratic primary results

Republican primary results

General election results