Romney narrowly carried the state of North Carolina, winning 50.39% of the vote to Obama's 48.35%, a margin of 2.04%. North Carolina was one of just two states (along with Indiana) that flipped from voting for Obama in 2008 to voting Republican in 2012. Like Indiana, North Carolina had been a reliably Republican state prior to Obama's 2008 win, having not previously gone Democratic since 1976. Unlike Indiana, however, North Carolina was still considered a competitive swing state in 2012, and both campaigns targeted it heavily, with the Democrats holding their convention in Charlotte. Romney was the first presidential candidate since Zachary Taylor in 1848 to carry North Carolina while losing both Wake County and Mecklenburg County, the two most populous counties and home to the cities of Raleigh and Charlotte, respectively. While Obama lost North Carolina to Romney, he received more votes than he received in 2008, garnering 35,740 more. This is the first time Nash County had voted for a Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976. This is peculiar considering the state otherwise flipped towards the Republican Party this election cycle, flipping four counties that were won by Obama four years prior.