NC’s Republican supermajority in the General Assembly is no more

North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, speaks while Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, left, and other legislators listen in the Legislative Building in Raleigh, N.C., in October 2024. Democrats were able to break the Republican supermajority in the legislature in the 2024 elections, meaning Republicans will have to work with Democrats on big votes. (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson).

By Billy Ball

November 6, 2024

It means that, with Democrat Josh Stein winning the governor’s race, Republicans in the NC General Assembly will have to work with Democrats or risk Stein’s veto.

In 2023, Republicans in North Carolina took a supermajority in the legislature, meaning they had two-thirds of the seats in both chambers and could override any potential veto from the governor.

But they didn’t get that supermajority through the election. They got it because Tricia Cotham, who campaigned as a pro-choice Democrat, abruptly became an anti-choice Republican.

It appears the voters of North Carolina have ended that supermajority, by electing enough Democrats to the state House of Representatives to break the GOP’s chokehold. It’s especially meaningful because NC voters also elected Josh Stein, a Democrat, as governor on Tuesday.

Breaking the supermajority means Stein and Democrats can provide an actual check on Republican power in the legislature.

“In spite of the GOP’s best effort to draw the most aggressive gerrymander in the country, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans came together to break the supermajority and hand the veto pen to Governor-elect Stein,” the NC Democratic Party said on X Wednesday morning.

“For too long, the supermajority has operated without checks, pursuing extreme agendas that left too many North Carolinians behind,” Robert Reives, the Democratic leader in the state House, told WRAL.

Democrats broke the majority by flipping key races in Granville, Vance, Nash, and Wilson counties, as well as winning most of their incumbent seats.

Republicans have held much of the power in the legislature since 2011. Gerrymandered state legislative districts have allowed them to keep the majority of the seats, despite relatively good election years for Democrats.

At times, however, Democrats have been able to provide a foil to the conservative-dominated legislature by denying Republicans the supermajority.

Tuesday’s result means that Republicans will have to negotiate with Democrats on things like abortion rights, the state budget, education funding, and more.

Author

Billy Ball

Billy Ball is Cardinal & Pine's senior newsletter editor. He’s covered local, state, and national politics, government, education, criminal justice, the environment, and immigration in North Carolina for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary have earned state, regional, and national awards. He's also the founder of The Living South, a journalism project about the most interesting people in the American South.

Have a story tip? Reach Billy at [email protected]. For local reporting that connects the dots, from policy to people, sign up for Billy’s newsletter.

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CATEGORIES: LOCAL NEWS

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