politics, north carolina

[elainegrey]

I was indignant when i saw that the Lt Governor Democratic candidate, a black woman, lost to the Republican candidate, while the Democratic Governor won. But: the governor is an incumbent, and the Lt Governor was an open race previously held by a Republican.

While i suspected a bias against a candidate named Yvonne, all i can say just looking at my notes below is that there's plenty of split tickets.

Tempted to crunch more numbers. I'm sure there's a factor out there that points to the statistical influence of incumbency.

NC Council of State returns:

Governor: White man (D, I) beats White man (R) by 4.42%
Lt Governor (open): Black* man (R) beats Black* woman (D) by 3.32%
Atty General: White man (D, I) beats White man (R) by 0.20%
Auditor: White** woman (D, I) beats White** man (R) by 1.7%
Commissioner of Agriculture: old White man† (R, I) beat young White woman† (D) by 7.78%
C of Insurance: White man (R, I) beat White man (D) by 3.56%
C of Labor (open): White man†† (R) beat Black woman†† (D) by 1.72%
Secy of State‡: White woman (D, I) beat white man (R) by 2.28%


* Mark beat Yvonne.
** Beth beat Anthony.
† Steve beat Jenna -- and honestly, Steve Troxler has been Ag Commissioner for years and i find he's done a respectable job in general, and seems to have been sensible about Covid. I understand why a Dem might choose to vote for a R in this case. Jenna
†† Josh beat Jessica
‡ Elaine beat EC