Unaffiliated status is taking over the WNC political landscape

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — There is a growing push away from traditional politics in North Carolina as more people are giving up their political affiliations.

The fastest growing political group in North Carolina is made up of those opting out of the Democratic and Republican parties. It seems the unaffiliated status is overtaking the political landscape statewide and here in the mountains, but it may be in name only.

Western Carolina University professor Chris Cooper tracks the numbers follows the political trends.

For registered voters without a declared political party, there's one obvious advantage.

"If you are unaffiliated, you are able to chose which party's primary you want to vote in," Cooper said.

And a dramatic number of North Carolinians are doing it.

Here's how statewide board of elections data shakes down:

• Over the past decade, of those leaving the Democratic Party, 33% went Republican and 66% switched to unaffiliated.
• Only 22% of those who jumped the GOP ship became Democrats, and 75% of those who left became unaffiliated.
• Among those changing their unaffiliated status, 39% became Republican and 58% became Democrats.

Buncombe County numbers pretty much line up with state numbers:

• Most who pull the plug on the Democratic Party go unaffiliated, 72% and 27% turned to the Republican Party.
• The same holds true for Republicans. About 77% of those who left became unaffiliated and 20% joined the Democratic Party.

But Cooper said, in reality, the letter "U" may mean very little come election day. But it might be important in protecting privacy.

"Increasingly polarized times, people know you can look up their party registration with a couple of strokes of the keypad," Cooper said. "People may register as unaffiliated but still be what we call shadow partisans. These are folks who vote consistently with one party or the other, despite their unaffiliated name."

If you're interested in digging deeper for your county, city or town, the North Carolina Board of Elections has one of the most accessible data banks anywhere.