# 2016 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary

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vte :
The 2016 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on March 15 in the U.S. state of North Carolina as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
On the same day, the Democratic Party held primaries in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio, while the Republican Party held primaries in the same five states, including their own North Carolina primary, plus the Northern Mariana Islands.
Clinton easily won the primary, though Sanders did outperform polls. Clinton had the in-state backing of Rep. G.K. Butterfield, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as Reps. Alma Adams and David Price. Sanders, meanwhile, did not have any endorsements from members of Congress representing the state. Clinton won 80% of African Americans.

## Opinion polling

| Poll source | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Other |
| Primary results | March 15, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 54.5% | Bernie Sanders 40.9% | | Others / Uncommitted 4.6% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 3.6% Sample size: 747 | March 11–13, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 56% | Bernie Sanders 37% | | Others / Undecided 7% |
| High Point University/SurveyUSA Margin of error: ± 3.8% Sample size: 669 | March 9–10, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 58% | Bernie Sanders 34% | | Others / Undecided 8% |
| WRAL/SurveyUSA Margin of error: ± 3.8% Sample size: 687 | March 4–7, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 57% | Bernie Sanders 34% | | Others / Undecided 9% |
| Civitas Margin of error: ± 4.4% Sample size: 500 | March 3-7, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 57% | Bernie Sanders 28% | | Others / Undecided 15% |
| Elon University Margin of error: ± 3.6% Sample size: 728 | February 15–17, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 47% | Bernie Sanders 37% | | Others / Undecided 16% |
| SurveyUSA Margin of error: ± 4.7% Sample size: 449 | February 14–16, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 51% | Bernie Sanders 36% | | No Preference 4%, Undecided 9% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 4.1 Sample size: 575 | February 14–16, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 52% | Bernie Sanders 35% | | Others / Undecided 13% |
| High Point Margin of error: ± 4.5% Sample size: 478 | January 30 – February 4, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 55% | Bernie Sanders 29% | Martin O'Malley 1% | Not Sure 15% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 4.6% Sample size: 461 | January 18–19, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 59% | Bernie Sanders 26% | Martin O'Malley 5% | Not Sure 10% |
| Civitas Margin of error: ± 4.4% Sample size: 500 | January 13–16, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 53% | Bernie Sanders 28% | Martin O'Malley 2% | Undecided 17% |
| Poll source | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Other |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 2.8% Sample size: 555 | December 5–7, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 60% | Bernie Sanders 21% | Martin O'Malley 10% | Not Sure 9% |
| Elon University Margin of error: ± 4.32% Sample size: 514 | October 29 – November 2, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 57% | Bernie Sanders 24% | Martin O'Malley 3% | Other 2% Undecided/DK 13% Refused 0.5% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 4.8% Sample size: 421 | October 23–25, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 61% | Bernie Sanders 24% | Martin O'Malley 5% | Lawrence Lessig 2% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 4.0% Sample size: 605 | September 24–27, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 37% | Joe Biden 30% | Bernie Sanders 17% | Jim Webb 3%, Lincoln Chafee 2%, Martin O'Malley 1%, Lawrence Lessig 0%, Not sure 10% |
| Elon University Margin of error: ± 5% Sample size: 427 | September 17–21, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 53.40% | Bernie Sanders 23.00% | Jim Webb 1.60% | Lincoln Chafee 0.70%, Lawrence Lessig 0.70%, Martin O'Malley 0.20%, Other 2.10%, Undecided/Don't know 17.10%, Refuse 1.20% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 4.5% Sample size: 477 | August 12–16, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 55% | Bernie Sanders 19% | Jim Webb 5% | Lincoln Chafee 2%, Martin O'Malley 2%, Lawrence Lessig 1% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 5.8% Sample size: 286 | July 2–6, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 55% | Bernie Sanders 20% | Jim Webb 7% | Lincoln Chafee 4%, Martin O'Malley 4%, Someone else/Undecided 11% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 5.9% Sample size: 274 | May 28–31, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 62% | Bernie Sanders 14% | Jim Webb 5% | Lincoln Chafee 4%, Martin O'Malley 4%, Someone else/Undecided 12% |
| Survey USA Margin of error: ± 4.7% Sample size: 442 | April 22–27, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 56% | Elizabeth Warren 11% | Joe Biden 8% | Martin O'Malley 3%, Bernie Sanders 3%, Jim Webb 3%, Other/Undecided 16% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 5.1% Sample size: 370 | April 2–5, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 53% | Joe Biden 13% | Elizabeth Warren 11% | Martin O'Malley 5%, Jim Webb 3%, Bernie Sanders 2%, Someone else/Undecided 12% |
| Civitas Institute Margin of error: ± 5% Sample size: 400 | March 20–23, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 53% | Elizabeth Warren 19% | Joe Biden 9% | Bernie Sanders 5%, Martin O'Malley 2%, Other/Undecided 13% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 4.9% Sample size: 401 | February 24–26, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 56% | Elizabeth Warren 13% | Joe Biden 11% | Martin O'Malley 3%, Jim Webb 3%, Bernie Sanders 1%, Someone else/Undecided 12% |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 5% Sample size: 385 | January 29–31, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 54% | Joe Biden 18% | Elizabeth Warren 12% | Bernie Sanders 3%, Martin O'Malley 2%, Jim Webb 2%, Someone else/Not sure 10% |
| Poll source | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Other |
| Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 5% Sample size: 381 | December 4–7, 2014 | Hillary Clinton 52% | Joe Biden 18% | Elizabeth Warren 7% | Bernie Sanders 5%, Andrew Cuomo 4%, Jim Webb 2%, Martin O'Malley 1%, Brian Schweitzer 0%, Someone else/Not sure 10% |
| Suffolk Margin of error: ± ?% Sample size: 254 | August 16–19, 2014 | Hillary Clinton 57.09% | Joe Biden 14.96% | Elizabeth Warren 9.06% | Martin O'Malley 2.76%, Andrew Cuomo 1.97%, Undecided 11.42%, Refused 2.76% |
| Civitas Institute Margin of error: ± ?% Sample size: 336 | July 28–29, 2014 | Hillary Clinton 40% | Elizabeth Warren 12% | Joe Biden 9% | Andrew Cuomo 3%, Bernie Sanders 2%, Howard Dean 1%, Jim Webb 1%, Amy Klobuchar 0%, Martin O'Malley 0%, Won't vote in Democratic primary 15%, Undecided 14%, Refused 3%, Other 0% |

## Results

North Carolina Democratic primary, March 15, 2016 :
| Candidate | Popular vote | Popular vote | Estimated delegates | Estimated delegates | Estimated delegates |
| Candidate | Count | Percentage | Pledged | Unpledged | Total |
| Hillary Clinton | 622,915 | 54.50% | 60 | 8 | 68 |
| Bernie Sanders | 467,018 | 40.86% | 47 | 2 | 49 |
| Martin O'Malley (withdrawn) | 12,122 | 1.06% | | | |
| Rocky De La Fuente | 3,376 | 0.30% | | | |
| No preference | 37,485 | 3.28% | | | |
| Uncommitted | — | — | | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 1,142,916 | 100% | 107 | 13 | 120 |
| Sources: The Green Papers, North Carolina State board of Elections, North Carolina Democratic Party - Official Delegation for Pledged Delegates ||||||

### Results by county

| County | Clinton | Votes | Sanders | Votes |
| Alamance | 53.7% | 7,374 | 41.3% | 5,755 |
| Alexander | 45.8% | 1,148 | 44.8% | 1,123 |
| Alleghany | 44.2% | 563 | 44.8% | 571 |
| Anson | 66.1% | 2,307 | 26.2% | 914 |
| Ashe | 46.4% | 1,219 | 45.9% | 1,205 |
| Avery | 41.4% | 326 | 53.9% | 425 |
| Beaufort | 55.6% | 2,934 | 34.9% | 1,840 |
| Bertie | 69.5% | 2,065 | 25.4% | 756 |
| Bladen | 59.6% | 3,442 | 26.4% | 1,524 |
| Brunswick | 60.1% | 7,192 | 35.5% | 4,252 |
| Buncombe | 35.4% | 17,604 | 62.1% | 30,913 |
| Burke | 46.1% | 3,511 | 45.4% | 3,460 |
| Cabarrus | 51.7% | 8,096 | 44.3% | 6,931 |
| Caldwell | 47.0% | 2,156 | 45.9% | 2,108 |
| Camden | 54.2% | 468 | 34.5% | 298 |
| Carteret | 48.5% | 2,946 | 44.4% | 2,694 |
| Caswell | 59.8% | 1,701 | 31.1% | 885 |
| Catawba | 51.2% | 5,310 | 44.0% | 4,561 |
| Chatham | 55.0% | 7,406 | 40.9% | 5,510 |
| Cherokee | 43.9% | 1,024 | 43.7% | 1,021 |
| Chowan | 61.8% | 974 | 29.8% | 470 |
| Clay | 52.8% | 487 | 38.5% | 355 |
| Cleveland | 55.9% | 4,880 | 35.6% | 3,104 |
| Columbus | 56.3% | 3,628 | 31.1% | 2,002 |
| Craven | 58.1% | 5,187 | 35.7% | 3,184 |
| Cumberland | 63.9% | 22,744 | 31.0% | 11,052 |
| Currituck | 47.8% | 780 | 43.5% | 710 |
| Dare | 42.5% | 2,003 | 48.9% | 2,307 |
| Davidson | 50.3% | 4,489 | 43.5% | 3,878 |
| Davie | 54.0% | 1,377 | 40.4% | 1,031 |
| Duplin | 61.2% | 3,036 | 29.2% | 1,450 |
| Durham | 57.5% | 35,845 | 41.0% | 25,584 |
| Edgecombe | 70.8% | 6,411 | 22.7% | 2,058 |
| Forsyth | 58.0% | 24,446 | 39.8% | 16,779 |
| Franklin | 59.4% | 4,951 | 34.3% | 2,858 |
| Gaston | 54.1% | 7,697 | 40.3% | 5,738 |
| Gates | 61.7% | 749 | 29.3% | 356 |
| Graham | 44.3% | 321 | 40.7% | 295 |
| Granville | 58.8% | 4,693 | 34.0% | 2,715 |
| Greene | 58.7% | 1,643 | 29.4% | 822 |
| Guilford | 56.0% | 37,880 | 41.7% | 28,204 |
| Halifax | 66.7% | 6,224 | 24.8% | 2,313 |
| Harnett | 55.1% | 4,655 | 36.8% | 3,111 |
| Haywood | 44.5% | 3,748 | 46.0% | 3,873 |
| Henderson | 47.0% | 4,811 | 50.1% | 5,129 |
| Hertford | 67.5% | 2,926 | 22.2% | 961 |
| Hoke | 59.7% | 3,528 | 31.1% | 1,837 |
| Hyde | 48.0% | 459 | 40.5% | 388 |
| Iredell | 50.9% | 5,888 | 43.2% | 4,998 |
| Jackson | 38.1% | 2,022 | 57.0% | 3,021 |
| Johnston | 52.1% | 7,992 | 40.5% | 6,223 |
| Jones | 58.0% | 910 | 32.0% | 501 |
| Lee | 54.6% | 3,224 | 38.1% | 2,248 |
| Lenoir | 64.1% | 4,731 | 26.4% | 1,947 |
| Lincoln | 51.3% | 2,812 | 41.8% | 2,291 |
| Macon | 47.9% | 1,548 | 44.2% | 1,428 |
| Madison | 34.5% | 1,201 | 58.7% | 2,044 |
| Martin | 61.8% | 2,469 | 27.4% | 1,097 |
| McDowell | 40.9% | 1,353 | 49.0% | 1,622 |
| Mecklenburg | 60.3% | 71,265 | 38.3% | 45,224 |
| Mitchell | 40.4% | 314 | 57.9% | 450 |
| Montgomery | 54.9% | 1,366 | 35.5% | 885 |
| Moore | 58.8% | 4,679 | 37.0% | 2,948 |
| Nash | 65.8% | 8,554 | 28.2% | 3,664 |
| New Hanover | 48.4% | 12,240 | 48.6% | 12,276 |
| Northampton | 68.4% | 3,195 | 22.9% | 1,067 |
| Onslow | 54.2% | 4,560 | 38.2% | 3,213 |
| Orange | 48.4% | 17,546 | 49.9% | 18,096 |
| Pamlico | 53.0% | 922 | 38.9% | 676 |
| Pasquotank | 65.2% | 2,471 | 29.8% | 1,128 |
| Pender | 56.4% | 2,880 | 36.8% | 1,880 |
| Perquimans | 51.4% | 711 | 34.8% | 481 |
| Person | 51.0% | 2,954 | 37.1% | 2,150 |
| Pitt | 57.0% | 11,856 | 36.3% | 7,548 |
| Polk | 47.7% | 1,099 | 48.7% | 1,123 |
| Randolph | 46.6% | 2,969 | 45.8% | 2,914 |
| Richmond | 57.1% | 2,941 | 31.0% | 1,595 |
| Robeson | 51.0% | 8,457 | 31.4% | 5,206 |
| Rockingham | 54.4% | 4,464 | 36.5% | 3,000 |
| Rowan | 52.7% | 5,031 | 41.6% | 3,969 |
| Rutherford | 46.0% | 2,382 | 44.5% | 2,306 |
| Sampson | 65.7% | 3,790 | 26.9% | 1,554 |
| Scotland | 63.0% | 2,671 | 26.9% | 1,142 |
| Stanly | 49.1% | 2,153 | 41.4% | 1,813 |
| Stokes | 47.8% | 1,433 | 44.0% | 1,319 |
| Surry | 47.5% | 2,380 | 44.0% | 2,204 |
| Swain | 41.0% | 666 | 51.2% | 831 |
| Transylvania | 45.8% | 1,794 | 49.9% | 1,954 |
| Tyrrell | 49.3% | 266 | 36.5% | 197 |
| Union | 55.8% | 7,630 | 40.6% | 5,547 |
| Vance | 64.0% | 4,561 | 28.0% | 1,999 |
| Wake | 53.4% | 77,927 | 44.8% | 65,380 |
| Warren | 70.0% | 2,827 | 24.5% | 988 |
| Washington | 62.1% | 1,374 | 27.0% | 597 |
| Watauga | 29.6% | 2,514 | 68.5% | 5,811 |
| Wayne | 62.5% | 7,546 | 29.5% | 3,564 |
| Wilkes | 50.4% | 2,107 | 42.6% | 1,783 |
| Wilson | 64.2% | 6,408 | 29.4% | 2,935 |
| Yadkin | 48.0% | 832 | 45.2% | 783 |
| Yancey | 40.5% | 1,134 | 49.5% | 1,386 |
| Total | 54.6% | 616,383 | 40.8% | 460,316 |

## Analysis

After North Carolina had sealed the deal on Clinton's dying 2008 presidential effort eight years prior by handing a double-digit win to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton managed a commanding 13-percentage-point-victory in North Carolina over Bernie Sanders in 2016. Clinton won both men 48-47, and women 59-37; she won both married and unmarried women voters in the state. While Sanders won 59–40 with younger voters, and 52-43 with white voters, Clinton won 64–30 with older voters and 80-19 with African American voters. Clinton swept all educational attainment levels and all income levels except those who made between $50k and $100k per year. Clinton won Democrats 65-34, but lost Independents 58-34 to Sanders. Clinton won among liberals, moderates, and conservatives in the Old North State.
Clinton won in urban, Suburban, and rural areas of the state. She won Raleigh-Durham 55-42, the Charlotte area 60-39, Piedmont and central North Carolina 60-31, and Eastern North Carolina 58-34. Sanders performed strongly in Western North Carolina, which is whiter, conservative, more rural and considered to be part of Appalachia, winning 52–44. Outside of the western part of the state, Sanders won only three counties: New Hanover, home to Wilmington; the state's eighth most populated city, Dare, and Orange, the latter of which is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.