NC had a lightning fast Dem trend in 2004 and 2008 just like VA did. It seemed that the growth in Raleigh, Charlotte and the research triangle would bring in lot's of college educated whites like NOVA in VA. The NC trend has dramatically slowed down compared to VA. In 2012 NC had a 1 point Dem trend and a tiny Dem trend in 2016. NC is now 6 points more R than the national average, while VA is 3 points more D. I don't know why the NC Dem trend slowed down so much since 2012, unlike VA which seems to be racing to Maryland like status, and trended 3 points Dem in 2016.
it actually makes total sense. virginia is wealthier and more educated due to the massive population of NOVA (also richmond to an extent). NC has some highly educated dem-trending suburbs especially around raleigh and somewhat around charlotte, but has many populous, uneducated exurban counties which cancel out much of the former trend
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