2010 North Carolina's 7th congressional district election

North Carolina's 7th congressional district election, 2010 was an election held to determine who would represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives during the 112th Congress. The candidates were incumbent Democrat Mike McIntyre and Republican former United States Marine Corps second lieutenant Ilario Pantano. Mike McIntyre defeated Ilario Pantano, winning a seventh term in the United States House of Representatives, 54% to 46%. It was McIntyre's closest reelection campaign to date.^[1]

North Carolina's 7th District Election, 2010

← 2008 November 2, 2010 2012 →

Candidate Mike McIntyre Ilario Pantano Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 113,957 98,328 Percentage 53.68% 46.32%

North Carolina's 7th congressional district

Representative before election Mike McIntyre Democratic Elected Representative Mike McIntyre Democratic

Background

North Carolina's 7th District is located in Southeastern North Carolina, stretching from the Sandhills to Wilmington. The district has a Cook PVI rating of R+5, meaning the district is slightly more conservative than average. The 7th district was won by Republican President George W. Bush in 2004 by a large margin and Republican Senator John McCain in 2008 by a slimmer margin.

The 7th district race was especially competitive in 2010 due to uncertainty about the nation's economy and negative approval of the Democratic Party and President Barack Obama. Mike McIntyre, a six-term conservative Democrat from Lumberton, supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.^[2] However, McIntyre opposed most of the other major pieces of legislation passed by Democrats in the 111th Congress, including the American Clean Energy and Security Act^[3] and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.^[4] Pantano used McIntyre's vote in favor of the stimulus bill and his vote to elect Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House^[5] to attack him, while McIntyre spun Pantano's association with Wall Street against him. Pantano was already a controversial figure after he was accused of shooting two unarmed Iraqis while serving in Iraq in 2004.^[6]

In the general election, McIntyre was endorsed by the National Rifle Association of America,^[7] the United States Chamber of Commerce,^[8] and the National Right to Life Committee.^[9]

Candidates

• Mike McIntyre, Democrat, incumbent Representative
• Ilario Pantano, Republican, former marine

Polling

Poll Source	Dates Administered	Mike McIntyre (D)	Ilario Pantano (R)	Undecided
Grove Insight[10]	October 3–5, 2010	52%	41%	–
SurveyUSA[11]	September 24–26, 2010	45%	46%	–
Public Opinion Strategies[12]	August 31 – September 2, 2010	41%	48%	–

Primary Election Results

Ilario Pantano upset former 7th district Republican congressional candidate Will Breazeale. Breazeale lost to McIntyre in 2008 with only 32% of the vote to McIntyre's 68%. Breazeale endorsed Mike McIntyre after he lost 2010's Republican primary to Ilario Pantano.^[13]

Republican primary results^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ilario Pantano	17,057	51.03
	Republican	Will Breazeale	11,559	34.58
	Republican	Randy Crow	4,809	14.39
Total votes			33,425	100

Mike McIntyre was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

General Election Results

Mike McIntyre won reelection by a slim margin compared to his last few elections, with 53.7% of the vote. Pantano did well in the Wilmington suburbs and nearly claimed victory in New Hanover and Cumberland Counties, but McIntyre's 44-point margin of victory in Robeson County and strong showings in other rural counties put him over the top.

General Election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike McIntyre	113,957	53.68
	Republican	Ilario Pantano	98,328	46.32
Total votes			212,285	100

County	McIntyre share	McIntyre votes	Pantano share	Pantano votes
Robeson	72.22%	16,773	27.78%	6,452
Bladen	65.87%	8,196	34.13%	4,247
Columbus	62.84%	10,436	37.16%	6,170
Scotland*	62.71%	37	37.29%	22
Duplin*	60.75%	5,831	39.25%	3,774
New Hanover	51.33%	32,900	48.67%	31,201
Cumberland*	50.78%	10,886	49.22%	10,550
Pender	46.76%	7,726	53.24%	8,798
Brunswick	45.04%	17,983	54.96%	21,940
Sampson*	38.06%	3,179	61.94%	5,174

*County is not entirely located within the 7th district.