NC always votes Democrat for state gov’t (up to 85% Democrat), yet bizarrely votes Republican for president and occasionally governor.
There is a different breed of Democrat in the NC and VA: The Quasi-Conservative Democrat who is quite different from the Northeast Liberal.
A little history: The Republican Party did not even exist in NC until Jesse Helms brought it in, but there was still a two party system: the Democrats and the Dixiecrats.
Now the Dixiecrats were technically Democrats, but they were the business-oriented Democrats, generally voting republican for President, Governor and one Senator.
The Dixiecrats and their descendents are still very much Democrats by tradition, and for the serious leadership roles they still continue vote Republican (quietly).
So you can have a state with a gov’t that is 85% Democrat that still is Red when it comes to president.
In 1972 the State Legislator fearing George McGovern, required that you had to vote for the Governor separately from the straight party ticket.