By M.H. Cavanaugh
Christian Action League
November 6, 2014
Republicans ran the table on election-day, Tuesday. Republicans have solid veto-proof majorities in both the state House and Senate, along with a GOP Governor. They took control of the U.S. Senate and hold a 10-3 advantage in the North Carolina delegation to the US House and also hold both U.S. Senate seats.
U.S. Senate
The big win of the day was House Speaker Thom Tillis (R) ousting US Senate incumbent, Kay Hagan (D) with 49% to 47% of the vote.
U.S. House of Representatives
Incumbent Rep. Renee Elmers (R) would beat out American Idol celebrity, Clay Aiken, by a more than 58% to 41% margin.
Mark Walker (R) overcame Laura Fjeld (D) 58% to 41% in his race for a U.S. House seat.
David Rouzer (R), who came within 654 votes of unseating 18 year incumbent Mike McEntyre (D) in the 7th Congressional District in 2012, secured the seat this year, after besting Jonathan Barfield (D) Jr. by 14 points (59% to 36%).
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R) retained her seat handedly, beating Joshua Brannon (D) by 23 points (61% to 38%).
Richard Hudson (R) overcame Antonio Blue (D) to secure a U.S. House seat with a whopping 29 point lead (64% – 35%).
Rep. Robert Pittenger (R) ran unopposed and garnered 93% of the vote.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R) made an excellent showing taking 61% of the vote over Tate McQueen’s 38%.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R) easily overcame his opponent, Tom Hill, to retain his U.S. House seat by a 63% to 37% margin.
Long-time U.S. House member Walter Jones (R) retained his place in the U. S. House beating Marshall Adame 67% to 32%.
George Holding (R) also retained his House seat beating Brenda Cleary, by a 57% to 42% margin.
Democrat Rep. David Price would easily retain his House seat, winning over his opponent, Paul Wright, 74% to 25%.
Former N.C. House Representative, Alma Adams (D) will go to Washington to serve in the U.S. House, beating her opponent, Vince Coakley (R), 74% to 24%.
Rep. G.L. Butterfield (D) would also soundly keep his U.S. House seat, beating his challenger, Arthur Rich (R) by a 73% to 26% margin.
N.C. House
Republicans hold a 74-46 margin balance of power over the Democrats in the North Carolina House. Republicans lost four seats on election-day, but picked up one seat.
Rep. Tim Moffitt (R) of Buncombe County lost to his challenger in a close race, Brian Turner (D), 51% to 48%.
Rep. Nathan Ramsey (R) of Henderson County lost to his opponent, John Ager by a very slim margin, 50% to 49%.
In Lee County, Rep. Mike Stone’s (R) challenger, Brad Salmon, overcame him to take away that seat by a 9 point margin (54% to 45%).
Rep. Tom Murry (R) of Wake County would also lose a tight race against Cary Mayor Pro-Tem Gayle Adcock by a 51% to 48% margin.
However, House Republicans picked up a seat with Larry Yarbourough’s (R) defeat of Ray Jeffers (D) by a 57% to 43% margin. This seat had been vacated by long-time Rep. Winkie Wilkins (D), who retired.
House Republicans have two more votes than the necessary 72 needed to override any of the Governor’s vetoes.
N.C. Senate
Senate Republicans beat back serious challenges to four seats with the objective by Democrats of taking away the Republicans veto-proof majority. They also picked up a seat, placing their balance of power at 34-16.
In a race that spent more than $1 million dollars, Sen. Chad Barefoot (R), the youngest member of the state Senate, defeated Sarah Crawford (D) by the comfortable margin of 53% to 47%.
Cumberland County’s, Sen. Wesley Meredith fought off Billy Richardson (D), a former NC lawmaker, in a race that involved some extremely negative television ads against Meredith. Meredith trumped Richardson by a 54% to 46% margin.
Sen. Mike Lee (R) of New Hanover, who had been appointed to Sen. Thom Goolsby’s seat after Goolsby’s resignation, overcame a challenge by Democrat Elizabeth Redenbaugh, by a 55% to 45% margin.
Republican Johnny Alexander narrowly defeated Democrat Tom Bradshaw by only 717 votes to secure former Sen. Neal Hunt’s (R) seat for Wake County.
Lastly, Republicans picked up the seat of Sen. Gene McLaurin of Richmond County. Tom McInnis defeated McLaurin with 50% to 47% of the vote.
Republicans now have four more votes necessary than the 30 required to override any of the Governor’s vetoes.
N.C. Supreme Court
Although Republicans retain control of the North Carolina Supreme Court with a 4-3 margin. Democrats had a good run this election, picking up seats on the High Court. Democrats now hold three of its seats.
Justice Robin Hudson (D) soundly defended her seat against a challenge by Eric Levinson (R) with a 68% to 31% win.
Cheri Beasley retained her place on the court, with unofficial results placing her with a win against Mike Robinson (R) by only 3200 votes. A recount may be necessary.
Sam Ervin IV (D) also overcame Justice Bob Hunter (R) who had been appointed to the court by Gov. Pat McCrory. Ervin beat Hunter 56% to 43%.
Republican Chief Justice Mark Martin easily retained his place, winning 8 more years on the state’s Supreme Court, beating out his challenger, Ola Lewis (D) 69% to 30%.
N.C. Court of Appeals
The electorate chose four justices for the N.C. Court of Appeals. Justice Donna Stroud (R) retained her seat unopposed. Justice Mark Davis (D) retained his seat, defeating his challenger, Paul Holcombe (R) by 68% to 31%. Lucy Inman prevailed in an open seat contest against Bill Southern (R), 54% to 45%. Judge John Tyson (R) won a 19 candidate contest with a 5% margin of victory over the second place winner, Keischa Lovelace (D).
N.C. Constitutional Amendment
Voters also approved a state constitutional amendment to allow “a person accused of any criminal offense for which the state is not seeking a sentence of death in superior court [to], in writing or on the record in court and with the consent of the trial judge, waive the person’s right to a trial by jury.” The amendment passed by a small margin of 50% to 49%.
Although the amendment proposal was overwhelmingly passed by both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly, legal scholars are divided over the measure.
Alcohol Referendums
Greenwood Township in Moore County narrowly approved the sale of malt beverages by a mere 22 votes. Pikeville rejected the sale of malt beverages by only 2 votes. Hudson approved the sale of malt beverages, unfortified wine, and mixed beverages with approximately 53% of the vote in each case.
Conservative Christian Vote Decisive Factor in 2014 Election
Public Opinion Strategies conducted a poll revealing that conservative Christians nearly made up one 1 out of every 3 voters this election. They unquestionably played a decisive role in Republicans taking back the U.S. Senate, securing a record majority in the U.S. House, and garnering critical victories in gubernatorial races.
The poll shows that conservative Christians made up 32% of the electorate and voted 86% Republican and 12% Democrat. These same voters contributed a little more than half of the votes received by Republicans. White evangelicals made up at least 23% of the electorate and voted 82% Republican and 18% Democrat.
“I hate to say I told you so,” said Dr. Mark Creech, “but I told you so.” “When conservative Christians go to the polls, when they participate with zeal and passion, they can change, even correct, the moral direction of this country by their votes at the ballot box. When followers of Christ apply a Christian worldview to politics and make their choices based on Christian values, they are being ‘salt’ as Christ commanded. They are preserving our state and nation from becoming completely rotten,” he said.