In 2022, The States Project worked in the North Carolina State House to prevent a rightwing supermajority. This would have protected Governor Roy Cooper’s veto power against a radical rightwing agenda that included abortion bans and anti-voter policies. We prevented the supermajority by a single seat.
However, in April 2023 — after promising voters that she would protect abortion, prevent rollbacks on the rights of LGBTQ+ North Carolinians, and advocate for gun safety — Rep. Tricia Cotham, who won a safe Democratic seat in the 2022 election, single-handedly reversed that victory. She joined the rightwing to create a supermajority in the House, disregarding the will of the voters who elected her, and overriding Governor Cooper’s veto power on critical issues.
In 2024, TSP is aiming to break the supermajority in the State House. This year, there will be millions of dollars spent on the governor’s race to defeat the extreme rightwing nominee Mark Robinson. But even if that effort is successful, we have to end the supermajority to ensure a governor’s veto would matter in blocking harmful laws. To achieve our goal, we’re aiming to net at least one additional seat in the House.
During the 2023 legislative session, the rightwing supermajority overrode Governor Cooper’s veto 19 times to enact extreme and unpopular policies, including:
There will also be a gubernatorial election in North Carolina this November. Ending the rightwing supermajority is the only way to ensure a governor’s veto would actually matter in blocking harmful laws.
In 2023, the newly rightwing North Carolina State Supreme Court reversed its previous decision and allowed gerrymandered maps to be enacted. There is no longer a path to winning a majority but there are paths to preventing a supermajority. Ending the supermajority in the House came down to just 315 votes in 2022 — and every district we targeted was a tight race.
To achieve our goal of breaking the rightwing supermajority in the House, we need to net at least one additional seat, which means holding every seat we have plus flipping one more.
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