Politics in the Tar Heel State is usually a game of inches. We're talking about a place where a few thousand votes in a sleepy rural county can flip a seat. But the 2024 North Carolina gubernatorial election results didn't follow the script. Instead of a nail-biter, we saw a blowout.
Josh Stein, the soft-spoken Democratic Attorney General, basically ran away with it. He didn't just win; he crushed it. He pulled in over three million votes—the most any candidate has ever gotten in a statewide North Carolina race. On the other side, Mark Robinson, the Republican Lieutenant Governor, suffered a defeat so massive it felt like a time machine back to the 80s.
The Final Numbers are Wild
Honestly, if you looked at the presidential map, you'd be confused. Donald Trump won North Carolina by about 3 points. At the same time, Josh Stein beat Mark Robinson by nearly 15 points. That’s a massive gap. We call that "ticket splitting," and North Carolina voters did it in a big way.
Stein finished with 54.9% of the vote (3,069,496 ballots).
Robinson ended up with 40.1% (2,241,309 ballots).
That 14.8% margin is the biggest landslide for a governor in this state since 1980. It’s also kinda historic because Stein is now North Carolina's first Jewish governor.
2024 North Carolina Gubernatorial Election Results: The Robinson Implosion
You can't talk about these results without talking about the "Black Nazi" headlines.
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For a while, this race was tight. Robinson had a lot of momentum with the MAGA base. Trump even called him "Martin Luther King on steroids." But then, a CNN investigation dropped a bomb. It linked Robinson to old, graphic, and incredibly offensive comments on a pornographic forum. He allegedly called himself a "black Nazi," praised Hitler, and shared views on slavery that made even his closest allies run for the hills.
After that report, the Republican Party basically ghosted him. Trump stopped appearing with him. His entire senior staff quit. Robinson stayed in the race, insisting he was being targeted by "political grifters," but the damage was done. Suburban voters, particularly in places like Wake and Mecklenburg, weren't just skeptical—they were done.
Where the Votes Actually Came From
Stein won 37 counties, which might not sound like a lot in a state with 100 counties, but he won the right ones. He dominated the urban and suburban areas. He also flipped several counties that usually lean red, like Franklin and Jackson.
Robinson, meanwhile, became the first Republican governor candidate since 1976 who didn't flip a single county. He held on to the rural heartland, sure, but his numbers there weren't high enough to offset the drubbing he took in the suburbs.
The breakdown looks sort of like this:
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- Urban Centers: Stein won big. We're talking margins of 60% to 80% in places like Durham and Asheville.
- Suburban Ring: This is where the election was actually won. Stein appealed to independents and moderate Republicans who liked Roy Cooper’s steady hand and found Robinson too extreme.
- Rural NC: Robinson took 63 counties, but his margins were thinner than previous GOP candidates. He just couldn't fire up the base enough to make up for the scandal fallout.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Win
Some folks think Stein won just because Robinson was a "dumpster fire." That’s only half the story.
Stein ran a disciplined, incredibly expensive campaign. He spent millions on ads that barely mentioned his own platform, focusing instead on Robinson’s past comments about abortion and "skirt down" remarks. It was a strategy designed to make Robinson's name synonymous with "too risky."
Also, Stein leaned hard into the legacy of Roy Cooper. Cooper is basically the gold standard for North Carolina Democrats—a moderate who doesn't rock the boat. Stein promised more of that. He talked about public schools, clean water, and protecting reproductive rights (specifically IVF). It was a "competence over chaos" pitch, and it worked.
The Down-Ballot Ripple Effect
The 2024 North Carolina gubernatorial election results didn't just impact the top of the ticket. Because Stein won by such a wide margin, it helped other Democrats win Council of State races.
- Jeff Jackson won the Attorney General seat.
- Mo Green won as Superintendent of Public Instruction (defeating Michele Morrow, another controversial GOP candidate).
- Rachel Hunt took the Lieutenant Governor spot.
Usually, the GOP cleans up these down-ballot races, but the "Robinson Effect" made the Republican brand a tough sell for swing voters this year.
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Looking Ahead to the Stein Era
So, what now?
Stein takes over a state that is still deeply divided. The legislature remains Republican-controlled, so he’s going to spend a lot of time with his veto pen, just like Roy Cooper did. He's already said he wants to work across party lines, but in today’s political climate, that’s easier said than done.
If you're trying to keep track of what happens next, watch how Stein handles the state budget and his relationship with the GOP leadership in the General Assembly. They’ve already signaled they aren’t going to give him a honeymoon period.
Actionable Insights for North Carolina Voters
- Check your registration status. Even though the big one is over, local municipal elections and midterms come fast. Use the NC State Board of Elections portal to stay updated.
- Watch the Council of State. The Governor isn't a king. The people elected in the 2024 cycle—like the Labor Commissioner and Treasurer—have huge power over your daily life and taxes.
- Follow the vetoes. If you want to know what laws are actually going to change, keep an eye on how many of Stein's vetoes get overridden by the legislature. That’s where the real power struggle happens.
The 2024 race proved that North Carolina isn't red or blue; it's a complicated shade of purple that rewards stability and punishes scandal.