Democrats in North Carolina need to pick up just one seat in either chamber to break the veto-proof majority Republicans hold in the state legislature. House District 24, where Democrat Dante Pittman is looking to unseat Republican incumbent Ken Fontenot, is a top contender.
The rural eastern North Carolina district includes a piece of Nash County and the entire Wilson County, where more than 40% of residents are Black. Prior to 2022, when Fontenot flipped the seat, Democrats had consistently been elected to represent District 24. This year’s race will be a test of whether that win was due to a strong Republican candidate or apathy among Democratic voters — and whether Democrats can overcome either factor this time around.
“It wasn’t as if we saw a massive shift in how folks voted,” Pittman told NOTUS of the 2022 election. “It was that they just were not inspired to come out and vote. And that’s our job this year, is to make sure we don’t see that.”