The noise and fury in North Carolina has mainly been about Kay Hagan being defeated and the NC General Assembly keeping it’s super-majority. Let’s peek at the Sheriff races, which yielded a flip in control from Democrat to Republican.
Key points:
This cycle, the GOP picked up 9 and lost 2 spots for a net gain of 7 sheriffs.
In 2012, sheriff positions were in Democrat control by five; 45-55.
In 2014, sheriff positions are now in Republican control by four spots; 52-48.
GOP lost races in the following counties: Alleghany and Franklin.
GOP won races in the following counties: Beaufort, Bladen, Cherokee, Graham, Montgomery, Nash, Pamlico, Scotland, Stanley.
UPDATE: Thank you Carolina Plott Hound for linking!
LL1885 
I would rather have non partisan Sheriffs race here in Orange county… the hairy liberal armpit of the south. As our 30 year sheriff retires at the end of the year, hopefully so goes the compulsory Democrat registration of the deputies…Yes Virgina it was common as well in other county an municipal positions.
One of the primary reason there are so many registered Democrats in Orange is simply because the death grip they hold on the county and if the average citizen is to have a voice on the Sheriff or most any other county elected position they had to cast their vote in the primary.
The last Sheriffs race here had 2 Republican who switched party simply to have a shot. The position Statewide should not have any inference of party, only law.
LikeLike
Then you have Onslow County. Ed Brown was a democrat for decades. He was a democrat his whole 72 years of life. He was also the Sheriff of Onslow County for decades with no competition. About 5 months before the primaries he saw the writing on the wall and knew that he was going to have a strong opponent running as a Republican in the race for Sheriff, so he changed his party to Republican thinking he could win the primary and have an easy time against whoever was running as a democrat, if any showed up. He lost to his opponent who had been a Republican his entire life. Hans Miller, the winner of the Republican primary, easily won in the general election. So does that count as another Sheriff’s race won by a Republican over a democrat?
LikeLike
If the Sheriff in Onslow switched parties before the election, did anyone call it out? Local media? Op-ed? Anything?
LikeLike
how do we know they are conservatives? just because they are republican does NOT denote
conservatism…there are pleny of liberal Rs…
LikeLike
Liberal R’s? Then they aren’t R’s.
LikeLike