NC’s General Assembly Republican Supermajority Ends
TL/DR –
In North Carolina, Democrats have broken the Republicans’ supermajority in the state’s legislature. The victory came after electing enough Democrats to the state House of Representatives and electing Democrat Josh Stein as governor. This result means that Republican lawmakers will now need to negotiate with Democrats on various issues, including abortion rights, the state budget, education funding, and more.
Democrat Josh Stein’s victory as governor throws light on the need for NC Republicans to cooperate with Democrats or face a veto.
In 2023, NC Republicans achieved a legislative supermajority, with two-thirds of the seats in both chambers, enabling them to overturn any governor’s veto.
However, the supermajority was not an electoral win but resulted from Tricia Cotham, a pro-choice Democrat, switching to anti-choice Republican.
This supermajority was disbanded by NC voters, who elected enough House Democrats to counter the GOP’s dominance, importantly, after electing Josh Stein, a Democrat, as governor.
The supermajority’s downfall empowers Stein and Democrats to check Republican influence in the legislature.
The NC Democratic Party remarked on X that a coalition of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans broke the supermajority, giving Governor-elect Stein the veto power.
Robert Reives, the Democratic House leader, told WRAL that the supermajority pursued extreme policies that left many North Carolinians behind.
Democrats overturned the majority by clinching crucial races in Granville, Vance, Nash, and Wilson counties, besides retaining most incumbent seats.
Republicans have largely controlled the legislature since 2011, thanks to gerrymandered districts, despite good electoral years for Democrats.
Nevertheless, Democrats occasionally managed to challenge the conservative-dominated legislature by denying Republicans the supermajority.
The latest election results indicate that Republicans will now need to negotiate with Democrats on issues such as abortion rights, state budget, education funding, and more.
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