We Have to Flip NC’s Republican House & Senate

We Have to Flip NC’s Republican House & Senate

by Dane Spaco

North Carolina has a divided government: Democrats control the governorship, while Republicans control the state senate and state house. This is due to Republicans “gerrymandering” voting districts: manipulating how voting districts are drawn in order to concentrate opposition into less districts (known as “packing”) or diluting opposition among a larger favorable population (known as “cracking”).

Before 2016, North Carolina was a “Republican trifecta,” where Republicans controlled the Senate, House, and the Governor’s office. In 2016, North Carolina voters elected Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, but Republicans still held a 35-15 “supermajority” in the Senate and a 74-46 “supermajority” in the House.

The concept of a “supermajority” is important: to override a Governor’s veto of proposed legislation, a three-fifths majority is needed in each chamber:

  • 30 out of 50 total votes in the NC Senate
  • 72 out of 120 total votes in the NC House

Republicans have enjoyed a supermajority since 2012. With that power, Republicans passed a series of bills that Gov. Roy Cooper argued were intended to undermine his authority as Governor:

  • Senate Bill 4
    • Passed by Republican Senate and House, signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory on 12/16/2016
    • Distributed power to appoint State Board of Elections members equally between parties, increased members from 5 to 8 (with Republicans appointing 4 of them)
  • House Bill 17
    • Passed by Republican Senate and House, signed by Republican Gov. McCrory on 12/19/2016
    • Requires Senate (Republican) approval of cabinet-level appointments, while limiting the number of appointments from 1500 to 425 (it was increased from 400 to 1500 for McCrory in 2013)
  • House Bill 100
    • Passed by Republican Senate and House, vetoed by Democrat Gov. Cooper, veto overridden on 3/23/2017
    • Made Superior Court and District Court judicial elections partisan (judges identify with a “R” or “D”).
  • House Bill 239
    • Passed by Republican Senate and House, vetoed by Democrat Gov. Cooper, veto overridden on 4/26/2017, repealed by Gov. Cooper on 2/27/2019
    • Decreased the number of governor-appointed judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals
  • Senate Bill 68
    • Passed by Republican Senate and House, vetoed by Democrat Gov. Cooper, veto overridden, and finally ruled unconstitutional by a Judicial panel
    • Attempted to merge the state elections board and the State Ethics Commission
  • Senate Bill 257
    • Passed by Republican Senate and House, vetoed by Democrat Gov. Cooper, veto overridden 6/28/2017
    • Limits Gov. Cooper’s ability to hire private lawyers to challenge legislation passed by the Republican-led legislature
  • House Bill 770
    • Passed by Republican Senate and House, vetoed by Democrat Gov. Cooper, veto overridden 8/30/2017
    • Decreased Gov. Cooper’s power to appoint members to the North Carolina Medical Board from 6 to 4

In the 2017-2018 legislative session, the Republican-controlled legislature used its veto-proof majority to override 23 of the 28 vetoes issued by Gov. Cooper.

That is the most veto overrides ever in a single NC legislative session.

How did we get here? Gerrymandering

In 2016, the US Supreme Court determined NC’s 2011 maps were racially gerrymandered, so they were purposely redrawn with a “partisan gerrymandering” approach: redrawing state and congressional districts to benefit a particular political party.

During the redistricting process in 2016, Republican State Representative Dave Lewis admitted that the political gerrymandering was meant to disadvantage Democrats:

“I propose that we draw the maps to give a partisan advantage to 10 Republicans and three Democrats, because I do not believe it’s possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/03/ralph-hise-and-david-lewis-nc-gerrymandering/585619/

Still, the 2018 elections shifted a few seats in the General Assembly, and the Republican supermajority has shifted to just a majority:

  • House: 65 Republicans to 55 Democrats (7 votes away from a Rep supermajority)
  • Senate: 29 Republicans to 21 Democrats (1 vote away from a Rep supermajority)

What we can do about this

Districts are redrawn every 10 years based on the census. If we have a Republican-controlled General Assembly, the maps based on the 2020 census will be redrawn to the Republicans’ advantage for an additional 10 years. Districts and how they are drawn determines who wins elections, and what bills get passed.

It is incredibly important that we gain more Democratic districts, and have fair districts drawn in 2021. This is all very possible with grassroots support:

  • NC House: We have to transfer 6 seats from Republicans to Democrats to get a 61-to-59 advantage
  • NC Senate: We have to transfer 5 seats from Republicans to Democrats to get a 26-to-24 advantage

How do we win? Winning is all about getting citizens to VOTE. More new voters vote Democrat, and the more Democrats vote, the more progressive policies we can enact.

Register to vote & flip these seats!


Additional Resources