North Carolina 's party loyalties have undergone a series of important shifts in the last few years : While the 2010 midterms saw Tar Heel voters elect a bicameral Republican majority legislature for the first time in over a century , North Carolina has also become a Southern swing state in presidential races . Since Southern Democrat Jimmy Carter 's comfortable victory in the state in 1976 , the state had consistently leaned Republican in presidential elections until Democrat Barack Obama narrowly won the state in 2008 . In the 1990s , Democrat Bill Clinton came within a point of winning the state in 1992 and also only narrowly lost the state in 1996 . In the early 2000s , Republican George W. Bush easily won the state by over 12 points . By 2008 , demographic shifts , population growth , and increased liberalization in densely populated areas such as the Research Triangle , Charlotte , Greensboro , Winston-Salem , Fayetteville , and Asheville , propelled Barack Obama to victory in North Carolina , the first Democrat to win the state since 1976 . In 2012 , North Carolina was again considered a competitive swing state , with the Democrats even holding their 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte . However , Republican Mitt Romney ultimately eked out a 2-point win in North Carolina , the only 2012 swing state that Obama lost , and one of only two states ( along with Indiana ) to flip from Obama in 2008 to the GOP in 2012
2012 Democratic National Convention
2012 Democratic National Convention
North Carolina