North Carolina Republicans scramble to strip Democrats of power after their supermajority was broken this cycle
WASHINGTON— Next week, North Carolina Republicans are expected to wield their toxic supermajority in a desperate last-ditch effort to strip incoming Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and key Democratic officials of their established powers. GOP Senate Republicans already overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the anti-democratic legislation this week, and next week House Republicans are plotting to finish the job before they lose their supermajority status. This flurry of activity and blatant power grab comes after the DLCC and state Democrats achieved a critical milestone last month and broke the Republican supermajority in the House. Breaking the GOP supermajority was a top DLCC priority to ensure that Republican power is no longer unchecked by restoring the Democratic governor’s veto power.
This power grab follows a classic GOP playbook. We’ve seen similar attempts in states like Wisconsin, where Republicans used their supermajority to pass a number of laws curbing Gov. Evers’ powers back in 2018. This anti-democratic push in North Carolina is the last time Republicans will have a supermajority to pass such egregious policies before the new legislature is sworn in, showing just how impactful our victory is around ending Republicans’ unchecked legislative reign.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Interim Communications Director Sam Paisley issued the following statement:
“North Carolina Republicans have been put on notice that their days of unchecked power are numbered after we broke the toxic legislative supermajority last month. Unsurprisingly, Republicans are spending their final days in the supermajority by abusing the system to lock themselves into greater power, instead of focusing on real challenges facing the Tar Heel State like hurricane recovery. From gerrymandered maps to blatant power grabs, North Carolina Republicans have shown their sole priority is protecting their power.
“While we expect House Republicans to spinelessly follow suit and override Gov. Cooper’s veto of this blatantly anti-democratic legislation next week, this is the last time they’ll be able to pass an unchecked agenda. This episode of egregious GOP behavior shows why the DLCC’s work to break Republican supermajorities and restore Democratic governors’ vetos power is so meaningful. Checks and balances are essential to moving our communities forward, and we will continue working in the Tar Heel State to build Democratic power.”
The DLCC is the official arm of the Democratic Party with the sole mission of building Democratic power in the states and setting the national agenda at the state level. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
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