Can Democrats bounce back in North Carolina after 2023 'gut punch'?

Democrats are trying again to reel in their white whale of North Carolina this November after years of losses culminated in Republicans clinching a historically strong position to end 2023.

The GOP dealt Democrats a body blow last year when a new legislative supermajority, secured after the defection of a liberal state lawmaker, bulldozed through Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto and passed a 12-week abortion ban, gerrymandered legislative maps and enacted other conservative bills on education and transgender rights. Democrats, stuck in a deep minority, watched from the political sidelines.

Now, Democrats are looking to punch back, help President Joe Biden flip the state for his reelection bid and retain the open governorship, insisting their 2023 setbacks ignited new resolve to get off the mat.

«It was a gut punch, but it was a wake-up call,» said Gary Pearce, a past adviser to former Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt. «I think it made a lot of people mad.»

To be certain, the hype is not new for the state's Democrats, who include 2.4 million registered voters compared to Republicans' 2.2 million. Another 2.7 million voters are registered as unaffiliated.

The party for years has crowed of its chances to make gains in narrowly divided North Carolina only to fall short. Democrats have not won a presidential or U.S. Senate race there since 2008, and their state legislative presence has atrophied. The state's new congressional lines are expected to leave Democrats holding four out of 14 U.S. House districts at best.

But, Democrats boast, this year is different.

A slate of hard-liners expected to top the ticket for Republicans risks energizing Democrats and alienating swing voters. New leadership atop the Democratic state party has led the