What a GOP Stronghold in the N.C. Legislature Means for North Carolinians
The North Carolina State Legislature in Raleigh. Source.
As a particularly tumultuous election cycle came to a close this past weekend, voter turnout was at an all-time high in the state of North Carolina. 720,000 more ballots were cast in this election than in 2016. 440,000 have people registered to vote in the last four years. Voter turnout increased by 5.6% in this election cycle. Even among record-shattering voter participation, down-ballot races largely favored Republicans and the makeup of the North Carolina General Assembly stayed in control of the GOP, as it has for the last 10 years.
The North Carolina General Assembly is the bicameral state legislature of North Carolina, made up of the N.C. Senate and the N.C. House of Representatives. The GOP has held the majority in both branches since 2011. A majority means a Republican holds at least two of the following three offices: Governor, Senate President, and Speaker of the House. The Senate President and Speaker of the House have been consistently Republicans since 2011, though the party of the Governor has changed over the years and is currently held by the recently re-elected Democrat Roy Cooper.
Of the 120 seats up for election in N.C. House, 65 were held by Republicans. 24 of these races were identified as battleground races or competitive races with the potential to flip the House. Of the 50 Senate seats up for election, 10 were considered battleground races. 29 Senate seats and 65 House seats went to Republicans on November 3rd. Incumbent Republicans lost in N.C. House Districts 9, 45, and 63, and no incumbent Republicans lost in the Senate.
In 2011, when the GOP assumed the majority in the legislature, they worked quickly to fulfill campaign promises. Some reforms included lowering tax rates in North Carolina, privatizing certain aspects of Medicaid in N.C., and shrinking the N.C. Court of Appeals from 15 to 12 judges.
Important political entities in North Carolina like Reverend Barber II, who was very vocal against the Republican supermajority in N.C. in 2013 have been outspoken about the current state of the N.C.G.A., by explaining the regressive, often xenophobic, nature of the partisan politics. Rev. Barber was instrumental in starting “Moral Mondays,” the nonviolent protests at the General Assembly that began as early as 2007. The protests have evolved over the years, but have been centered around health care and tax cuts in N.C., House Bill 2, and other legislative actions.
The nature of North Carolina politics has shifted drastically in North Carolina over the last 10 years, and it has affected much more than many realize. In 2011, the GOP legislature redrew the N.C. voting districts in favor of Republicans, resulting in a gerrymandering case that lasted six years in the U.S. Supreme Court and was ultimately deemed unconstitutional, necessitating further redrawing of the districts. In 2013, when Republican Governor Pat McCrory was sworn in, there were attempts to implement Photo-I.D. laws in North Carolina polling locations that were also deemed unconstitutional by appellate courts. Other impactful laws from McCrory-era N.C. legislation included the repealing of the Racial Justice Act, a bill that allowed people sentenced to the Death Penalty to challenge their punishment if they could prove that race was a significant factor in the sentencing, decreasing unemployment benefits during a recession in 2013, and cutting teacher tenure benefits and removing automatic pay upgrades for teachers who receive their master’s degree.
In recent years, Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and the GOP legislature have reached many stalemates, sometimes resulting in deceptive politics. Notably, House Republicans held an “emergency meeting” during a 9/11 memorial service to override Cooper’s veto on the proposed state budget. Cooper will continue to pass legislation in the best interest of North Carolinians, not in favor of corporations, one particular area of contention. Had Democrats been more successful in this election, much of their early months would be spent undoing some of the more detrimental policy in North Carolina. The continued implications of a GOP majority in North Carolina would continue to favor some of the “regressive” policy Rev. Barber previously mentioned, favoring corporations and Conservative Ideologies.
Outside the NCGA, conservative candidates performed well in North Carolina, including Madison Cawthorn, a 25-year-old elected to congress after publicly attacking Senator Cory Booker and his adulation of Hitler. His platform, that he could deliver the ideals of conservatism in a less abrasive way, seemed to appeal to many voters. Though his messages have been far from subtle, it seems the actions of the GOP majority and the overall Trump administration have lowered the bar for decency and appropriateness. We will follow the actions of the Legislature closely in the coming years.