North Carolina

Born and raised in NC, and been here for *many* decades, lol. Lurked here since 2004 - yes, really!

I wrote the opinions in the paragraphs. I didn't write the summary of S.B. 266 in my post. That's in the ncnewsline.com link and article.


Veto Tracker: Legislature overrides 8 of Gov. Stein's 14 vetoes https://www.wunc.org/politics/2025-07-28/veto-tracker-legislature-override-stein-vetoed

State lawmakers are overriding several of Gov. Josh Stein's vetoes Tuesday with help from Democrats. The vetoed bills include the repeal of a carbon reduction mandate for Duke Energy and a plan to shift regulatory powers from state agencies to the legislature.
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Cunningham was one of several House Democrats to cross party lines and help the GOP override Stein. So far, the House hasn't taken a vote to override vetoes of another immigration bill, a repeal of concealed carry handgun permit requirements, and bills banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and programs in state government and education.
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Rep. Shelly Willingham, D-Edgecombe, crossed party lines on multiple bills Tuesday. He told WUNC that he'd previously supported the legislation and because the bills didn't change, he wasn't willing to change his mind despite the pressure from within his party.


Democrats’ defections doom multiple vetoes from Gov. Stein https://carolinapublicpress.org/71985/veto-override-nc-legislation-gop-peels-away-democrats/

Tuesday morning, Gov. Josh Stein called the North Carolina General Assembly’s veto override votes a “divisive” distraction and called on the Republican-controlled legislature to instead pass a budget. State lawmakers did end up passing a “mini budget” bill in the Senate later that afternoon, but not before voting to override eight vetoed items of legislation during a legislative session that fractured the House Democratic caucus and challenged the political clout of the first-term governor.
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The four Democrats who voted with the Republican majority on one or more of the override votes were Carla Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg; Shelly Willingham, D-Edgecombe; Nasif Majeed, D-Mecklenburg; and Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford.


NC lawmakers override Stein’s vetoes, as key House Democrats defect https://ncnewsline.com/2025/07/29/nc-lawmakers-override-vetoes-duke-energy-immigration-democrats/
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Democrats’ decisions to vote with GOP: Curbing immigration and ‘moral issues’

Republicans needed just one Democratic vote to secure an override. On all of Tuesday’s votes, they got that — and sometimes more.

Among the most consistent defectors was Rep. Carla Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg). During debate on an immigration bill to require sheriffs to comply with ICE detainer requests, she rose to defend her vote. She believes that those who immigrate “must assimilate” in the United States, she said, and “adapt to the culture they wish to live in.”
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Rep. Shelly Willingham (D-Edgecombe) also signed off on several overrides. He voted for an expansion of the state auditor’s powers and to allow private school employees to carry concealed weapons. And he joined Cunningham in support of bills that repeal a Duke Energy emissions goal and ban agencies from collecting donor info from nonprofits – a measure opposed by pro-democracy groups.

But the swing vote on one of the most contentious votes Tuesday was another Democrat: Rep. Nasif Majeed (D-Mecklenburg). He was the sole Democrat to vote in favor of a bill that, among other things, would codify definitions of male and female in state law, allow parents to restrict their students’ library book access, and restrict changes to birth certificates for transgender people.

“I had some moral issues with that,” Majeed told reporters after the vote. “And I had to lean on my values.”