After GOP sweep in VA, NC poised to return to national political spotlight for midterms

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The 2022 midterm elections were already high stakes, but with major Republican victories in nearby Virginia, the Tar Heel State will undoubtedly be the next national battleground.

"North Carolina has been such a key state, and we have to look at that," Martha Raddatz, ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent, told ABC11. "One of the great things about returning to North Carolina is to see what's changed for voters."

Raddatz, who also cohosts This Week with George Stephanopolous, visited Raleigh for a special segment to gauge voters' positions and reactions on a variety of issues, including the economy, jobs, President Joe Biden's policies, his handling of the pandemic, as well as former President Donald Trump's refusal to accept his losing the election.

"It's personified here in North Carolina -- the political divide," she added. "It's so interesting talking to voters here because you get, 'One year I voted for Obama and this year I voted for Trump,' and they change back and forth.'"

In 2022, the entire U.S. House of Representatives is up for grabs, including 14 from North Carolina -- one more than in the last decade because of North Carolina's population growth.

Also in 2022, North Carolina will have a race for the U.S. Senate with the impending retirement of Republican Richard Burr.