Gay Charlotte and LGBTQ Carolina News, Arts & Entertainment
National exit polling data estimates that five percent of the nation’s voters on Tuesday self-identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual. The numbers, if taken at face value in North Carolina, reveal a potentially-powerful constituency for those seeking elected office.
Members of a local LGBT advocacy group say this week’s elections for the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners gives them hope for future advances.
Republican Mecklenburg County Commission at-large candidate Wayne Powers came in sixth in his seven-way race on Tuesday. Three Democrats won the at-large contests. On Wednesday, Powers thanked his supporters and struck out to remind them of the tough positions he took along the campaign trail.
After hard-fought campaigns, two openly lesbian candidates for the North Carolina legislature lost their races on Tuesday night.
Republicans maintained their control of the North Carolina General Assembly, adding to their majorities in both the Senate and the House. LGBT advocates in Raleigh say they are ready for new partnerships among a strengthened GOP legislature.
Incumbent state Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby, fueled by an unprecedented amount of outside money that helped him overcome an opponent from a family of well-known North Carolina lawyers, defeated challenger appellate Judge Sam “Jimmy” Ervin IV on Tuesday.
Yesterday’s election saw victory for several marriage referenda and other LGBT victories. For the first time, voters have approved legalization of same-sex marriage rights.
Election day in North Carolina turned in to a sort of mixed bag for the Tar Heel State’s LGBT community on Tuesday. While President Barack Obama won reelection, he did so without carrying North Carolina. Anti-gay Republicans picked up new seats representing the state in the U.S. House of Representatives. Two gay candidates for the state legislature lost in their races.
Several new LGBT-friendly candidates were elected on Tuesday to the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners. They’ll join several familiar incumbents and a new Republican commissioner in District 5.
Months of polling data showing Republican Pat McCrory leading Democrat Walter Dalton in North Carolina’s gubernatorial race were vindicated on Tuesday as the former 14-year Charlotte mayor sailed past Dalton to become the state’s first Republican governor in 20 years.
