North Carolina 42nd State Senate District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 (partial returns from 1876) · 38 presidential cycles · 38 with a vote-share denominator · 34 with a national benchmark
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Franklin D. Roosevelt1936
71.2%
4,331 votes · D+42.4 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Woodrow Wilson, 1912 · 69.0%
Republican
Richard Nixon1972
81.0%
26,293 votes · R+63.8 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Ronald Reagan, 1984 · 77.5%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Kamala Harris2024
66,568votes
52.2% of the vote · D+6.5 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · 66,078 votes
Republican
Mitt Romney2012
58,777votes
55.8% of the vote · R+12.9 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 58,405 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Alton B. Parker1904
+43.7pts D vs U.S.
Place D+24.1 · U.S. R+19.7 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · James M. Cox, 1920 · +43.2 pts
Republican
Barry Goldwater1964
+54.6pts R vs U.S.
Place R+32.0 · U.S. D+22.6 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Richard Nixon, 1968 · +47.4 pts
current representation
Current officeholders
DWoodson BradleyState Senate · 42
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
U.S. House elections · 2 House
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
Source · Akashic county-allocated estimate from certified county returns, House; not precinct-counted.
Year
Vote lead
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
D
66.7%68,844
33.3%34,338
103,182
2018
D
68.5%46,390
31.5%21,366
67,756
North Carolina 42nd State Senate District sits in the Carolinas. In 2024 it voted Democratic.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 54.3 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 63.8 points in 1972. The 2024 margin was 6.5 points.
A population of 209,378, a 70% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $124,690 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 13 and State Senate District 16.
Akashic
Political twins — state-senate districts
The state-senate districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons → · Or open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
North Carolina 42nd State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/37042/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did North Carolina 42nd State Senate District vote in 2024?
In 2024, North Carolina 42nd State Senate District voted Democratic by 6.5 points (D+6.5), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 127,509 votes cast, 66,568 went Democratic and 58,263 went Republican.
When did North Carolina 42nd State Senate District last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which North Carolina 42nd State Senate District voted Republican was 2016.
How many people live in North Carolina 42nd State Senate District?
North Carolina 42nd State Senate District has a population of 209,378 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in North Carolina 42nd State Senate District?
Median household income in North Carolina 42nd State Senate District is $124,690 — above the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of North Carolina 42nd State Senate District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in North Carolina 42nd State Senate District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 27 went Republican.