ELECTORAL VOTES 15

2008 ELECTION Swing State

ABOUT
NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina, one of the original 13 colonies, entered the Union in November 1789. The state did not participate in the 1864 election due to secession. Like many other southern states, North Carolina voted almost exclusively Democratic from 1876 through 1964 and almost exclusively Republican beginning in 1968. The initial shift was largely in response to white conservative voter uneasiness with the civil rights legislation passed in the mid-1960s, which was effectively exploited by the Republicans “southern strategy.” In 2004, George W. Bush defeated John Kerry by a 56 to 44% margin in the Tarheel State.