The results from statewide elections tell a clear story about Republican dominance: North Carolina voters are over it. Pending a recount for the Supreme Court race, Democrats have nearly finished their series of wins in statewide races, flipping the lieutenant governor and superintendent of public instruction offices and retaining the governor, attorney general and secretary of state offices.
Among these clear victories, another stands imperative to blocking Republican extremism in the N.C. General Assembly: the restoration of veto power.With that power back, Republican lawmakers can no longer band together and override a check from the executive.
In 2023, North Carolina Republicans gained the supermajority thanks to the faithless party change of Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg). Following the 2024 general election, Democrats kept Republicans one seat shy from retaining it. With a two-thirds majority in both chambers, Republicans have been able to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto on several bills, including restrictions on abortion access, immigration and rights for transgender youth. Currently, they’re eking out their last bit of advantage to pass a bill that would limit the powers of the governor and attorney general, buried under funding for hurricane relief.
In an extremely gerrymandered state, which favors Republicans retaining a Democrat in the state’s executive branch is not enough to be spared of Republican legislators’ extremist policies. While it was important for Democrats to gain all of these offices, breaking the supermajority was necessary to secure their power.
Sending Governor-elect Josh Stein into office without the ability to block legislation would significantly undermine the progress they hope to make or, at the very least, the agendas they intend to inhibit. It’s difficult for Democrats to pass their ideal policies with minorities in both the House and the Senate, but reclaiming the ability to block unwanted policies lessens the vulnerability that we’ve seen in the past two years.
The resurgence of Donald Trump and MAGA loyalists raises anxieties over what policies they will try to push. A continuation of the supermajority would validate those fears and place the future of the state into volatile, unrestricted hands.
With an increased power balance between parties, there is more promise for bipartisan cooperation and less extremism enabled by past Republican dominance. Now that Republicans have no clear path to passing radical bills, they lack incentive to introduce them to the House and Senate floor. While gridlock is to be expected, there is greater opportunity for their focus to be aimed at more feasible policies that better serve the true interests of North Carolinians.
We have demonstrated the pluralistic nature of the state and our unwillingness to bear the consequences of policies pushed by opportunistic policymakers. Recent radical conservative bills do not reflect the priorities of most people in the state, but these are the debates that have detracted from constituent’s actual concerns.
The breaking of the supermajority has given weary North Carolinians a reason to feel safe. While surrounding states enact tougher abortion bans and alarming education policies, we have the reassurance that, as long as Stein has veto power, we won’t be next.
