NC News Nov. 5, 2026

Democrats Flip NC House

Democrats won a majority in the North Carolina House for the first time since 2010 in Tuesday’s election. Republicans went into Election Day with a 71-49 edge, so Democrats needed a net gain of 12 seats.

Unofficially, they appear to have flipped 25 Republican seats. They also broke the GOP’s veto-proof majority in the state Senate, though Republicans appear to have held that chamber by one seat.

Democrat Winn Decker ousted three-term Rep. Erin Paré, a top House budget writer, and Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, fell to Democrat Jessica Bichler.

House Minority Leader Robert Reives, D-Chatham, said voters wanted a check on Republican power. Paré, conceding, said there was “a national sentiment that’s devastating to Republicans down ballot.”

The wave reached Washington, too. In the Republican-leaning 5th District, Democrat Chuck Hubbard led longtime Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx by 99 votes in unofficial results, a margin likely headed for a recount.

Hornets Help Buy the Old Epicentre

The Charlotte Hornets are part of a group buying the old Epicentre, the struggling Uptown entertainment complex now called Queen City Quarter.

Hornets Sports & Entertainment teamed with Lincoln Property Company and Vision Ventures to acquire the 302,324-square-foot, four-level development at 210 E. Trade St. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

The complex opened in 2008 between the Spectrum Center and the convention center. After years of closures, it had dwindled to about a dozen tenants.

Vision Ventures previously ran the property from 2010 to 2015, lifting occupancy from about 50% to 95%. The new owners say they want to “reimagine the property as a vibrant destination” for Uptown.

Crews Reseed Pisgah National Forest

Crews are dropping more than 10 tons, or 20,000 pounds, of seed across 900 acres of Pisgah National Forest to heal landslides Hurricane Helene tore open in 2024.

The U.S. Forest Service and the National Forest Foundation are spreading native plants and cover crops by helicopter and by hand across several areas of the forest Helene hit hardest.

The seeds target bare slopes and the banks of streams and rivers, where roots will knit the soil back together. The goal is to curb erosion that threatens trout, mussels, and hellbenders downstream.

“The idea is over the next two, three, four or five years, these species will get set up, and their root systems are very deep and strong,” said Rachel Blackburn of the National Forest Foundation.