Perhaps no Southern state has proven as bitterly divided in recent years as North Carolina. This year’s election results will hardly ease the state’s political tensions, but they will lay out the road map for the two years before the next statewide elections. Read more

A handful of congressional races drew substantial attention and spending this election cycle, even as the state continued its recovery from Hurricane Florence and a second, less perilous hit from Hurricane Michael.

The greatest prize at stake, though, may be a wonky one with substantial consequences for public policy: the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly, which has allowed them to defy Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, since he took office. Several dozen legislative seats this year are seen as at least somewhat competitive; Democrats need to gain at least four seats in the State House or six in the State Senate to end the supermajority.

North Carolina can be a fickle state: On the same day Mr. Cooper was elected in 2016, President Trump carried North Carolina by four percentage points.