Ocracoke is an Island of Blue

Once again, islanders and mainlanders show their political divide at the polls. In almost all the races at federal, state, and local levels, the blue wave from Ocracoke didn't reach across Pamlico Sound. 

Ocracoke had a record turnout for early voting, with 346 coming out for in-person early voting in October. On Election Day, another 194 ballots were cast on Ocracoke. (If an Ocracoke resident voted early in Swan Quarter, their vote is counted as a mainland early vote.) (Absentee/Mail-in ballots are all counted together in the county.) 194+346=540, which is a great turnout! In comparison, 501 Ocracoke residents voted in 2016. (Again, this number doesn't include absentee/mail-in ballots or early votes cast by Ocracoke residents at the mainland early voting site.)

In the biggest contest, for POTUS, Biden won Ocracoke (with 348 votes); Trump won the county.

Ocracoke voted for Democrat Cal Cunningham for U.S. Senate (with 350 votes); Hyde County overall voted for incumbent Thom Tillis.

At the state level, Ocracoke voted for incumbent Governor Roy Cooper; Hyde County overall preferred Dan Forrest.

Other races:

U.S. House of Representatives (District 3): Ocracoke: Democrat Darryl Farrow; Hyde County: Greg Murphy

NC State Senate (District 1): Ocracoke: Democrat Tess Judge; Hyde County: Bob Steinburg 

NC House of Representatives (District 6): Ocracoke: Democrat Tommy Fulcher; Hyde County Bobby Hanig

With the exception of Gov. Cooper, who won reelection, the Republican candidates listed above also won at the state and district levels: Tillis, Murphy, Steinburg, Hanig. 

At this writing, NC still has mail-in votes to count before a winner can be declared between Biden and Trump.

Local races:

Hyde County Board of Commissioners Lake Landing seat: Ocracoke: Democrat Thomas Midgette; Hyde County overall: incumbent Earl Pugh, Jr. 

Randal Mathews ran unopposed for Ocracoke's seat on the Hyde County BOC – and won! Democrat Goldie Topping and Republican Ben Simmons ran unopposed for the Swan Quarter and Fairfield seat, respectively, and both won. The only change on the BOC will be Randal Mathews taking Tom Pahl's seat.

Ocracoke is a tiny island of blue in a mostly red county and state. Sometimes visitors are surprised to learn this, but it makes sense. Most places with high population density lean blue. Hyde County mainland is rural, but Ocracoke is an urban village. If everything you need (groceries, school, library, shops, liquor store, parks, restaurants, post office, churches, museums, friends) are within walking distance and your issues (parking, public restrooms, noise) are caused by being really close to neighbors, then you're not in a rural or suburban area. Year-round residents who choose village life also choose Democratic candidates by a big majority. We chose Biden with 64% of the vote.

You can see the results of all the races, and see the results by precinct on the NCSBE website.