{"id":3448,"date":"2026-06-28T14:06:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T14:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3448"},"modified":"2026-06-28T14:06:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T14:06:50","slug":"stein-endorsed-her-opponent-then-this-nc-lawmaker-helped-the-gop-override-his-vetoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3448","title":{"rendered":"Stein endorsed her opponent, then this NC lawmaker helped the GOP override his vetoes"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Good morning and welcome to our Under the Dome<\/b> newsletter focusing on the governor. I\u2019m democracy reporter Kyle Ingram<\/b>, filling in for Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan<\/b>. Let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n

Read more NC\u2019s executions stopped almost 20 years ago. Will they resume under Iryna\u2019s Law?<\/a><\/p>\n

When Democratic Gov. Josh Stein<\/b> waded into a contentious primary election this year, he was likely motivated by the incumbent\u2019s history of siding with Republicans to override gubernatorial vetoes.<\/p>\n

Rep. Carla Cunningham<\/b>, a seven-term Charlotte-area Democrat, most notably cast the decisive vote<\/a> to overturn Stein\u2019s veto of House Bill 318<\/b>, a bill requiring North Carolina sheriffs to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Her vote, and her heated debate remarks in which she said \u201call cultures are not equal,<\/a>\u201d drew severe backlash from fellow Democrats.<\/p>\n

With Stein\u2019s endorsement<\/a>, Rev. Rodney Sadler<\/b> handily beat Cunningham in the March primary.<\/p>\n

But now, Cunningham \u2014 who has since switched her party registration to unaffiliated<\/a> \u2014 appears to be using her final months in office to once again stifle the governor\u2019s ability to sustain his vetoes.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, House Republicans suddenly decided to take a vote on four veto overrides<\/a> that had been quietly hanging on the calendar for months.<\/p>\n

Notably absent from the chamber that day was Cunningham \u2014 who had been at the legislative building just hours before for a committee hearing.<\/p>\n

Her absence, alongside another moderate Democrat who lost his primary, Rep. Shelly Willingham<\/b>, gave Republicans the numbers they needed to successfully override Stein\u2019s vetoes on an immigration enforcement bill and three bills targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs.<\/p>\n

Read more Dead tree in remote NC is hiding colony of rarely seen creatures, biologists say<\/a><\/p>\n

Cunningham herself said last year that the immigration bill in question, which requires state agencies to carry out some immigration enforcement usually done by federal agents, goes too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday I\u2019m going to draw a line in the sand,\u201d she said when the bill first came to the House in 2025<\/a>. \u201c… I want ICE to get to people in my communities that are devastating us, breaking in and smuggling drugs. Yes, I still want that. But I don\u2019t want innocent people to get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

That bill is now law thanks, in part, to her absence this week.<\/p>\n

Neither Cunningham nor Willingham responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Asked if he reached an agreement with the two lawmakers for them to skip the vote, House Speaker Destin Hall<\/b> told The News & Observer on Wednesday that he would not comment on discussions he has with House members.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I know is I got on the dais today and saw we had the votes,\u201d he said. \u201cAs I\u2019ve said the whole session, whenever we have the votes on an override, we\u2019re going to take them up. So, we weren\u2019t hiding the ball, and today was the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stein denounced the overrides in a statement shortly after the vote, but did not name Cunningham or Willingham.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers of the General Assembly are stoking the culture wars that divide us rather than fulfilling their long-overdue responsibility of passing a budget,\u201d he said. \u201c… Instead, they are overriding my veto on bills to whitewash the diversity that makes our state strong and to take state law enforcement officers away from their existing state duties, forcing them to act as federal immigration agents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham and Willingham\u2019s terms expire at the end of this year.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading. Be sure to listen to our Under the Dome podcast<\/b>, too. New episodes come out every Tuesday. You can reach me at kingram@newsobserver.com or our entire politics team at dome@newsobserver.com.<\/p>\n

Read more Landman’s Ali Larter Addresses How Taylor Sheridan Writes Women on His Shows<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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