North Carolina's next governor could have stronger veto power even if Democrats make only a small gain

RALEIGH, North Carolina – Democratic North Carolina Gov.-elect Josh Stein's veto could be more effective than outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper's recent rubber stamp should the margin in a legislative district race be enough for her party.

The results show Democrats won 48 of the state's 120 House seats in Tuesday's election, leading a Republican incumbent in another still-close race. Provisional ballots and some mail-in ballots are still being counted. But if that lead holds, Democrats would gain 49 seats – one more than needed to end Republicans' current veto-proof majority in the chamber when the next two-year session begins in January.

As of early 2023, Republicans have held exactly the three-fifths majorities needed in the House and Senate to override Cooper's vetoes, helping them advance their conservative agenda on issues like abortion, K-12 education, and To push elections largely at will. Although the outcome was not yet fully settled, Democrats early Wednesday celebrated the House results that they said would help uphold the veto of Stein, who decisively defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson on Tuesday.

“For too long, the supermajority has operated without checks and balances, pursuing extreme goals that have left too many North Carolinians behind,” said House Minority Leader Robert Reives of Chatham County.

Republican Rep. Destin Hall of Caldwell County — the House Republicans' choice to replace House Speaker Tim Moore, who was elected to Congress on Tuesday — downplayed the potential net loss of seats, saying the momentum won't be much compared to now be different. Republicans temporarily managed to convince Democrats to join them in the overrides.

“I am confident that we will have a functioning supermajority in every respect,” Hall said Wednesday at a news conference with Republican Senate leader Phil Berger. “I am confident that we will be able to pass the laws that we have passed in the past in the same way.”

Hall also said it was possible the supermajority would hold. In the potentially decisive race, Republican Rep. Frank Sossamon of Granville County trailed Democrat Bryan Cohn by less than 200 votes in his first term on Wednesday, according to unofficial results, out of 43,000 cast. The Associated Press has not called this race.

In the Senate, Republicans retained their supermajority on Tuesday, winning the required 30 seats in the 50-seat chamber. Unofficial results show that elections for two other Senate seats — in Wake and Mecklenburg counties — remain extremely close, with margins of less than 40 votes each.

Since last year, Republicans have used their veto power to pass more than two dozen bills, including measures to limit most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy; ban on gender-specific medical treatments for adolescents; and limiting LGBTQ+ instruction in early grades. They adjusted election laws and also took away the ability of every governor to make appointments to boards and commissions.

Later this month, Republican leaders plan to consider overriding a defeated measure that would eliminate a long waiting list for private school vouchers and direct sheriffs to assist federal immigration agents in locating prison inmates.

Cooper, who is leaving office at the end of the year, said Wednesday that Stein's campaign and Cooper raised or transferred millions in campaign funds to help the legislative candidates win.

Stein, a former state senator, said during his campaign that he would veto any bill that included additional restrictions on abortion. He said Wednesday that issues such as Hurricane Helene recovery, public safety and public schools are not partisan.

“We have to overcome our differences and get to work,” he said.

Berger said Wednesday he expects the GOP's relationship with Stein to be similar to its relationship with Cooper, who agrees with Republicans on things like economic development.

“There will probably be other things where there is common ground,” but “from a philosophical standpoint, there’s no question that he’s in a completely different place” than legislative Republicans, Berger said.

Almost all of the vetoes since 2023 came after Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County switched to the Republican Party, giving the GOP the necessary 72 seats to override Cooper's vetoes. Cotham, who was on the Democratic ticket, led her challenger on Wednesday in a close race that the AP has also not yet called.