2026 TAA Election Recap: A New Legislature, a Familiar City Council

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   A New Balance of Power for Triangle Housing

Unofficial results as of Wednesday, November 4, 2026

North Carolina voters delivered a historic midterm on November 3. Democrats won control of the NC House for the first time since 2010, broke the Republican supermajority in the Senate, flipped the state’s open U.S. Senate seat and picked up several U.S. House seats. Voters also approved three constitutional amendments, including one that directs the General Assembly to limit local property tax levy increases.

Closer to home, Raleigh and Wake County voters returned incumbents, approved every bond on the ballot and filled two new seats on an expanded nine-member Board of Commissioners. Wake County turnout was 60.48%, with 525,061 ballots cast.

Seven of nine candidates endorsed or recognized by TAA PAC won, including every Raleigh candidate. At the state level, four of the six Triangle legislators supported by AANC PAC with TAA’s input were reelected. All results are unofficial until county canvasses on November 13 and state certification on November 24.

NC House: Democrats take the majority

Democrats won 71 seats to Republicans’ 48, with unaffiliated candidate April Montgomery winning District 51. Five House races are within the 1% recount margin, but Democrats keep the majority even if every one of them changes hands. House Minority Leader Robert Reives, a longtime partner supported by AANC PAC with TAA’s input, was introduced on election night as the next Speaker of the House.

NC Senate: Republicans hold on, without a supermajority

Democrats flipped four Senate seats (Districts 4, 7, 11 and 34), including defeating Majority Leader Michael Lee, who lost to Jessica Bichler in New Hanover County. Republicans keep a 26-24 majority but lose the 30 seats needed to override a veto. Senate District 24 remains within recount range, with Sen. Danny Britt ahead by 268 votes; if it flips, the chamber would split 25-25, with Democratic Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt breaking ties. Other contenders for Senate leader, including Majority Whip Todd Johnson, Sen. Ralph Hise and Sen. Brent Jackson, won reelection.

Candidates supported by AANC PAC with TAA’s input

Southern and northern Wake swung decisively. Winn Decker defeated Rep. Erin Paré by 4,604 votes (26,678 to 22,074), and Evonne Hopkins defeated Rep. Mike Schietzelt by 4,613 votes (25,607 to 20,994) in a rematch of their 2024 race. With those results, Wake County’s House delegation will be entirely Democratic in 2027. We thank Rep. Paré for her leadership as an Appropriations chair and co-chair of the House property tax committee, and Rep. Schietzelt for his work on property tax and housing issues. We look forward to working with Reps.-elect Decker and Hopkins.

Rep. Robert Reives was reelected without opposition and is now positioned to lead the House. In 2026 he co-sponsored HB 1072, which would create a $50 million NC Housing Finance Agency revolving loan fund for affordable housing preconstruction costs. Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch won easily with 72.69%. Sen. Benton Sawrey narrowly held Senate District 10 in Johnston County, defeating Pat LeGrand by 1,254 votes (49.70% to 48.28%), just outside recount range. Rep. Phil Rubin was reelected with 80.80%.

Constitutional Amendments: All Three Pass

Voters approved all three amendments by comfortable margins (unofficial results): photo ID for all voting methods (about 59.5%), a 3.5% income tax cap (about 61.8%) and a property tax levy limit (about 60.4%). The levy limit amendment sets no number itself. The newly divided 2027 General Assembly will write the actual limit, and how it treats growth, new construction and exceptions will matter directly to rental housing owners.

Every TAA PAC-endorsed and recognized Raleigh candidate won

*Recognized by the TAA PAC Board for her engagement during the interview process.

Mayor Janet Cowell won Raleigh’s first four-year mayoral term in a landslide, and Stormie Forte topped the at-large field to earn a four-year term. Sana Siddiqui won the second at-large seat and will serve a two-year term. Mitchell Silver won District A and a four-year term, while Corey Branch, Jane Harrison and Christina Jones each won easily. The council that has supported housing rezonings, missing middle reforms and faster permitting stays intact as Raleigh writes its next Comprehensive Plan.

Voters also approved the $101.5 million affordable housing bond with nearly 65% support. It funds new and preserved affordable housing, a mixed-income revolving loan fund, homelessness response and homebuyer assistance.

The Board of Commissioners expands to nine members. Mona Singh led the at-large field and earns a four-year term, and Christine Kushner won the second seat and a two-year term. Commissioner Safiyah Jackson held District 2. The new board will be 9-0 Democratic. We thank Gary Hartong and John Adcock for running thoughtful campaigns focused on infrastructure and responsible growth.

TAA did not make federal endorsements

Former Gov. Roy Cooper flipped North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat by nearly 20 points, 58.72% to 39.09%. In the U.S. House, Democrats flipped five Republican-held seats (NC-6, 9, 11, 13 and 14), and Rep. Don Davis held NC-1 despite a 2025 redraw. In the Triangle, Paul Barringer unseated Rep. Brad Knott in NC-13 by 7,652 votes, while Reps. Deborah Ross and Valerie Foushee won easily. Democrats have won nine of the state’s 14 seats, up from four. Two races remain too close to call: Chuck Hubbard leads Rep. Virginia Foxx by 99 votes in NC-5, and Rep. Greg Murphy leads by 233 votes in NC-3.

• Bipartisan relationships matter more than ever. With divided control and no supermajorities, a Democratic House, a Republican Senate, and Gov. Stein will negotiate housing and landlord-tenant policy. Expect a different set of housing and tenant proposals to get a hearing in the House.
• New leaders, new committee chairs. Speaker-designate Reives has a long working relationship with the apartment industry. The House property tax and housing committees will have new leadership, and the Senate is choosing a new leader.
• Property tax policy is the issue to watch. Voters approved the levy limit amendment, so the 2027 General Assembly must write it. TAA and AANC will work to make sure the limit does not push costs onto new housing through fees or impact charges, since property taxes ultimately flow into rents.
• Stability in Raleigh. A pro-housing council returns with four-year terms for the mayor and several members, plus $101.5 million in new affordable housing funding.
• A larger county board. An expanded, all-Democratic Wake board will oversee rapid growth, more than $800 million in new school and Wake Tech bonds, and infrastructure decisions that determine where new apartments can be built.

Thank you to TAA members who voted, volunteered and met with candidates this fall. TAA PAC’s endorsements reflect a simple principle: the Triangle needs more housing of every type, and fair, predictable rules to build and operate it. We will work with every elected official, regardless of party, toward that goal.

• Support TAA PAC. Your contributions make candidate interviews and endorsements possible.
• Join TAA’s Government Affairs Committee and help shape our advocacy priorities for the 2027 session.
• Plan to join us at AANC Lobby Day in 2027 to meet the new General Assembly from Monday, May 17, 2027, to Wednesday, May 19, 2027.

Results are unofficial until certified by the NC State Board of Elections. Official results: er.ncsbe.gov