Senator Phil Berger was out of touch with voters in his district – and suffered the most stunning defeat in North Carolina politics in modern times.

His column this week – “Let’s Not Miss Our Chance to Continue North Carolina’s Conservative Successes” – shows he’s out of touch with voters across North Carolina.

On the eve of the General Assembly session, Berger wrote, “Today, North Carolina is at a critical inflection point, and we need to come together for the good of our state and to continue the progress made over the last decade and a half …. What we do today will impact North Carolina’s next 15 years.”

Unfortunately for him – and for his party in this year’s elections – North Carolina’s voters don’t share his rosy assessment of what 15 years of Republican control have meant for the state.

The statewide poll we did earlier this year found that:

• By 56-18%, voters are “not satisfied with the direction things are going in North Carolina today.”
• By 40-13%, they say the years 2001 to 2025 have been mostly a failure, not a success. Berger boasts, “All Republican legislators elected in 2010 and since share credit for that success.” And for that failure, one might add.
• As for the next 15 years, voters were asked, “When today’s children in North Carolina grow up, do you think they will be better off than people are today, worse off than people are today or about the same as people are today?” Only 10% said better off, 19% said about the same and 56% said worse off.

Where Berger claims success, voters see failure.

Where he predicts progress, voters predict worse times to come.

If Republicans’ message this year is “You’ve never had it so good,” Democrats may never have an election so good.