Current:Home > ContactNorth Carolina’s next governor could have a more potent veto with even a small Democratic gain -TrueNorth Capital Hub
North Carolina’s next governor could have a more potent veto with even a small Democratic gain
View
Date:2025-04-17 13:58:08
Follow live: Updates from AP’s coverage of the presidential election.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Stein’s veto could become more effective than outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper’s stamp has been recently, should the margin in a legislative district election hold for their party.
Results show Democrats winning 48 of the 120 state House seats in Tuesday’s elections and leading a Republican incumbent in another race that remains close. Provisional ballots and some absentee ballots are still being counted. But if the advantage holds, Democrats would reach 49 seats — one higher than needed to end the Republicans’ current veto-proof majority in the chamber when the next two-year session begins in January.
Since early 2023, Republicans have held exactly the three-fifths majorities needed in the House and the Senate to override Cooper’s vetoes, helping them advance their conservative agenda largely at will on issues such as abortion, K-12 education and elections. Even with the outcome not fully settled, Democrats early Wednesday celebrated House results that they said are poised to help uphold vetoes of Stein, who decisively defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson on Tuesday.
“For too long, the supermajority has operated without checks, pursuing extreme agendas that left too many North Carolinians behind,” said House Minority Leader Robert Reives of Chatham County.
GOP Rep. Destin Hall of Caldwell County — the choice of House Republicans to succeed House Speaker Tim Moore, who was elected to Congress on Tuesday — downplayed the potential net seat loss and said the dynamics wouldn’t be much different compared to now. Republicans at times have been able to persuade Democrats to join them on overrides.
“I’m confident that we’re going to have a working supermajority for all intents and purposes,” Hall said at a news conference with Republican Senate leader Phil Berger on Wednesday. “I’m confident that we’ll be able to pass the legislation that you’ve seen us pass in the same vein in the past.”
Hall also said it was possible the supermajority would hold. In the potential deciding race, first-term GOP Rep. Frank Sossamon of Granville County on Wednesday trailed Democrat Bryan Cohn by fewer than 200 votes among 43,000 cast in a three-person race, according to unofficial results. The Associated Press has not called this race.
In the Senate, Republicans retained their supermajority Tuesday by winning the necessary 30 seats in the 50-seat chamber. Unofficial results show elections for two other Senate seats — in Wake and Mecklenburg counties — remain extremely close, with margins of fewer than 40 votes for each.
Since last year, Republicans have used veto overrides to enact more than two dozen bills, including measures limiting most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy; prohibiting gender-affirming medical treatments for youth; and limiting LGBTQ+ instruction in early grades. They’ve adjusted election laws and also took away any governor’s ability to make appointments to boards and commissions.
Later this month, Republican leaders plan to consider an override of a vetoed measure that eliminates a large waitlist for private school vouchers and directs sheriffs to assist federal immigration agents seeking jail inmates.
Cooper, who leaves office at year’s end, said Wednesday on X that “breaking the GOP supermajority in the state House will leverage good bills and help stop bad ones.” Stein’s campaign and Cooper raised or transferred millions of campaign dollars to help legislative candidates win.
What to know about the 2024 election:
- The latest: Kamala Harris is expected to deliver a concession speech Wednesday after Donald Trump’s election victory.
- Balance of power: Republicans won control of the U.S. Senate, giving the GOP a major power center in Washington. Control over the House of Representatives is still up for grabs.
- AP VoteCast: Anxiety over the economy and a desire for change returned Trump to the White House. AP journalists break down the voter data.
- Voto a voto: Sigue la cobertura de AP en español de las elecciones en EEUU.
News outlets globally count on the AP for accurate U.S. election results. Since 1848, the AP has been calling races up and down the ballot. Support us. Donate to the AP.
Stein, a former state senator, said during his campaign that he would veto any bill that contains additional abortion restrictions. He said Wednesday that issues such as Hurricane Helene recovery, public safety and public schools are not partisan.
“We must come together across our differences and get to work,” he said.
Berger said Wednesday that he expects the GOP’s relationship with Stein to be similar to the one it had with Cooper, who found agreement with Republicans on things such as economic development.
“There likely will be other things where there’s common ground,” but “there’s no question that from a philosophical standpoint, he’s in a completely different place” than legislative Republicans, Berger said.
Nearly all of the vetoes since 2023 happened after Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County flipped to the Republican party, giving the GOP the necessary 72 seats to override Cooper’s vetoes. Cotham, who was targeted electorally by Democrats, was leading her challenger Wednesday in a close race that the AP also has not called yet.
veryGood! (87)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- 15-year-old Virginia high school football player dies after collapsing during practice
- Case that could keep RFK Jr. off New York’s presidential ballot ends
- CeeDee Lamb contract standoff only increases pressure on Cowboys
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Olympic Field Hockey Player Speaks Out After Getting Arrested for Trying to Buy Cocaine in Paris
- Samsung is recalling more than 1 million electric ranges after numerous fire and injury reports
- US government will loan $1.45 billion to help a South Korean firm build a solar plant in Georgia
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- California lawmaker switches party, criticizes Democratic leadership
Ranking
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- Colin Jost abruptly exits Olympics correspondent gig
- France beats Germany 73-69 to advance to Olympic men’s basketball gold medal game
- Who Is Olympian Raven Saunders: All About the Masked Shot Put Star
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- US jury convicts Mozambique’s ex-finance minister Manuel Chang in ‘tuna bonds’ corruption case
- Christina Hall Jokes About Finding a 4th Ex-Husband Amid Josh Hall Divorce
- Ohio woman claims she saw a Virgin Mary statue miracle, local reverend skeptical
Recommendation
Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
After 'hell and back' journey, Tara Davis-Woodhall takes long jump gold at Paris Olympics
Doomed crew on Titan sub knew 'they were going to die,' lawsuit says
Will Steve Martin play Tim Walz on 'Saturday Night Live'? Comedian reveals his answer
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Harris and Walz head to Arizona, where a VP runner-up could still make a difference
DNA on weapons implicates ex-U.S. Green Beret in attempted Venezuelan coup, federal officials say
2024 Olympics: Canadian Pole Vaulter Alysha Newman Twerks After Winning Medal