2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election

The 2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 United States presidential election, U.S. House election, statewide judicial election, Council of State election and various local elections.

The incumbent Democratic governor, Bev Perdue, was eligible to run for reelection, but announced on January 26, 2012, that she would not seek a second term. Incumbent lieutenant governor Walter H. Dalton won the Democratic nomination, while former mayor of Charlotte and 2008 gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory won the Republican nomination. McCrory won the election with almost 55 percent of the vote to Dalton's 43 percent, the largest margin of victory for a Republican in a race for governor in history, surpassing the previous record set in 1868.

Libertarian nominee Barbara Howe took 2% of the vote. When he was inaugurated as the 74th governor of North Carolina in January 2013, the Republicans held complete control of state government for the first time since 1871. As of 2024, this is the last time that a Republican was elected Governor of North Carolina.

It was also the last time the state concurrently voted for a gubernatorial candidate and presidential candidate of the same party, and the last time a Republican candidate won Mecklenburg County in a statewide election. This is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of the same political party were elected governor and lieutenant governor in North Carolina.

Candidates

 * Bruce Blackmon, physician
 * Walter H. Dalton, Lieutenant Governor
 * Gary M. Dunn, salesman and UNC-Charlotte student
 * Bob Etheridge, former U.S. Representative
 * Bill Faison, state representative
 * Gardenia Henley, retired U.S. Agency for International Development auditor

Declined

 * Dan Blue, state senator
 * Erskine Bowles, chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, former UNC System president, former White House Chief of Staff
 * Roy Cooper, Attorney General of North Carolina
 * Janet Cowell, state treasurer
 * Cal Cunningham, former state senator
 * Anthony Foxx, mayor of Charlotte
 * Kay Hagan, U.S. Senator
 * Jim Hunt, former governor
 * Allen Joines, Mayor of Winston-Salem
 * Mike McIntyre, U.S. Representative
 * Brad Miller, U.S. Representative
 * Richard H. Moore, former North Carolina State Treasurer and candidate for governor in 2008
 * Bev Perdue, incumbent governor
 * Heath Shuler, U.S. Representative

Debates
A series of televised debates between candidates Dalton, Etheridge and Faison, held April 16–18, was considered potentially pivotal, since "the governor’s race has so far attracted little attention, created little buzz and produced few political commercials" and "polls suggest there is still a large swath of Democratic voters who have yet to decide" for whom to vote. The first debate, conducted by WRAL-TV and broadcast statewide, featured few differences between the candidates, but Faison was seen as the aggressor. The second debate (conducted by UNC-TV) was more contentious, with Dalton criticizing Etheridge's support of a free trade agreement while he was in Congress, and Etheridge attacking Dalton over his attendance record on boards and commissions and his alleged failure to speak out against the actions of the majority-Republican legislature. In the final debate of the series, this one conducted by WNCN-TV and the North Carolina League of Women Voters, candidates were considered to be more "muted" in their criticisms of each other. All three spoke out strongly against a voter ID bill proposed by Republicans in the state legislature. Dalton emphasized modernizing the state's economy, Etheridge continued his themes of leadership and education, and Faison most sharply attacked Republicans and called for action on the state's unemployment problem.

Results
[[File:2012 North Carolina gubernatorial Democratic primary county map.svg|thumb|300px|Primary results by county: Dalton

{{legend|#001044|Dalton—81–90%}}

{{legend|#011966|Dalton—71–80%}}

{{legend|#0030c0|Dalton—61–70%}}

{{legend|#154bef|Dalton—51–60%}}

{{legend|#4872f1|Dalton—41–50%}}

{{legend|#00ffff|Dalton—31–40%}} Etheridge

{{legend|#003900|Etheridge—61–70%}}

{{legend|#006400|Etheridge—51–60%}}

{{legend|#59d622|Etheridge—41–50%}}

{{legend|#90ee90|Etheridge—31–40%}} Faison

{{legend|#ffff00|Faison—41–50%}} ]]

Candidates

 * Jim Harney, businessman
 * Scott Jones, businessman
 * Jim Mahan, small businessman and former teacher
 * Pat McCrory, former mayor of Charlotte and nominee for governor in 2008
 * Charles Kenneth Moss, businessman and preacher
 * Paul Wright, attorney and former District Court and Superior Court judge

Declined

 * Phil Berger, State Senate President Pro Tem
 * Cherie Berry, state labor commissioner (running for re-election)
 * Peter Brunstetter, state senator
 * Paul Coble, former mayor of Raleigh and current chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners (running for Congress)
 * Steve Troxler, state Agriculture Commissioner (running for re-election)

Candidates

 * Walter H. Dalton (D), lieutenant governor
 * Barbara Howe (L), nominee for governor in 2000 and 2004
 * Pat McCrory (R), former mayor of Charlotte and nominee for governor in 2008

Debates

 * Complete video of debate, October 3, 2012 - C-SPAN
 * Complete video of debate, October 16, 2012 - C-SPAN
 * Complete video of debate, October 24, 2012 - C-SPAN

Dalton and McCrory met for their first televised debate at the studios of UNC-TV on October 3, 2012. Two debates were sponsored by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation, with the third and final debate sponsored by WRAL-TV and the Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce. Howe was not invited to participate in any of the scheduled debates. The Associated Press characterized Dalton as going "on the offensive" against McCrory in the first debate. The final encounter between the two candidates, held Oct. 24 on the campus of North Carolina Wesleyan College, featured "more subdued disagreements over taxes, education, health care and mental health."

Polling

 * Democratic primary polling with Perdue
 * Republican primary with Ellmers, Troxler


 * General election polling
 * With Blue


 * With Blackmon


 * With Bowles


 * With Cooper


 * With Foxx


 * With Etheridge


 * With Faison
 * With Henley


 * With Hagan


 * With Joines


 * With McIntyre


 * With Meeker


 * With Miller


 * With Moore


 * With Perdue


 * With Shuler

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Alleghany (largest town: Sparta)
 * Beaufort (Largest city: Washington)
 * Caswell (Largest city: Yanceyville)
 * Chatham (largest municipality: Siler City)
 * Chowan (largest municipality: Edenton)
 * Columbus (largest municipality: Whiteville)
 * Craven (largest town: New Bern)
 * Dare (Largest city: Kill Devil Hills)
 * Duplin (Largest city: Wallace)
 * Forsyth (largest town: Winston-Salem)
 * Franklin (Largest city: Wake Forest)
 * Granville (largest city: Oxford)
 * Greene (largest municipality: Snow Hill)
 * Haywood (Largest city: Waynesville)
 * Hyde (largest community: Ocracoke)
 * Jackson (largest town: Cullowhee)
 * Jones (Largest city: Maysville)
 * Lee (largest municipality: Sanford)
 * Lenoir (largest town: Kinston)
 * Madison (Largest city: Mars Hill)
 * Mecklenburg (Largest city: Charlotte)
 * Montgomery (Largest city: Troy)
 * Nash (largest municipality: Rocky Mount)
 * New Hanover (largest municipality: Wilmington)
 * Onslow (largest town: Jacksonville)
 * Pamlico (largest town: Bayboro)
 * Perquimans (Largest city: Hertford)
 * Person (largest municipality: Roxboro)
 * Richmond (largest city: Rockingham)
 * Rockingham (Largest municipality: Eden)
 * Sampson (largest municipality: Clinton)
 * Swain (largest municipality: Cherokee)
 * Tyrrell (largest municipality: Columbia)
 * Wake (largest town: Raleigh)
 * Watauga (Largest city: Boone)
 * Wayne (largest town: Goldsboro)
 * Yancey (largest municipality: Burnsville)

By congressional district
McCrory won 10 of the state's 13 congressional districts, including one held by a Democrat.