Since 2023, North Carolina Republicans have held the upper hand in Raleigh, consistently overriding vetoes of their legislation by Democrat governors. But after losing their veto-proof supermajority in the 2024 elections — by just a single House seat — the dynamic has shifted. Now, although the GOP can still advance legislation, it faces serious resistance from freshly elected Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat.
On the campaign trail, Stein carefully marketed himself as a pragmatic moderate. Yet his very first vetoes reveal not moderation, but full alignment with the Democrat party’s increasingly radical agenda.
Stein campaigned on safe communities, but he has since rejected S153, a bill that mandates state cooperation with ICE, because the bill supposedly forces North Carolina police to “act as federal law enforcement.”
He reportedly wants to eliminate “hate and bigotry” in the workplace, yet he vetoed legislation that eliminates diversity, equity, and inclusion (DIE) from the state, local, and public educational institutions — even though DIE is an inherently discriminatory practice that favors specific demographics over others.
Stein supported H805, which protects women and children from online predation, until the act was amended to include provisions that would have prohibited “gender-affirming” birth certificate alterations, permitted parental access to school library materials, and restricted males from girls’ bedrooms. Incredibly, the governor claims that these amendments “target vulnerable people.”
The Republicans can still easily override Stein’s vetoes in the Senate, but they must persuade at least one Democrat to vote with them in the House to fully override a Stein veto. Most Democrats still firmly stand with the progressive party line, no matter what, but a few have on occasion sided with Republicans out of their own convictions.
For example, Democrat Rep. Carla Cunningham broke ranks with her party to support HB 318, legislation that will require sheriffs to hold arrested illegal aliens for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release. This allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement time to take them into custody.
Cunningham was the only Democrat to support HB 318, and her vote allowed Republicans to override the governor’s veto of the bill.
In response to defections like Cunningham’s, North Carolina Democrat party chair Anderson Clayton demanded that House Democrats “hold firm on our values.” But what, exactly, are those “values”? They are radical, revisionist ideals that strive to undermine America’s foundation.
Members of the Democrat party will censor and cancel anyone they don’t like and can’t control.
They want illegal aliens for menial labor, and so that Democrats can redraw the voting districts in their own favor.
“My body, my choice” is an essential Democrat creed — unless, that is, there’s a perceived need to coerce Americans into taking experimental vaccines.
Those who claim “#MeToo” are infallible unless the accused assaulter is a prominent Democrat.
The Democrat party believes that people need a college degree to know the difference between men and women (and sometimes not even then), and it encourages riots in the streets — but only when the cause favors left-wing ideas.
Gov. Stein portrays himself as a moderate, but he supports many of the left’s most radical causes, as his recent vetoes clearly indicate.
By all appearances, Stein and most North Carolina House Democrats are fully aligned with their national party’s goal of tearing down traditional values. If they cannot even define what a woman is, what would stop them from violating her privacy and dignity?
By refusing to defend parental rights and rejecting commonsense safeguards in education, Stein and many of his fellow North Carolina Democrats clear the way for schools to push ideological agendas without accountability. When parents are sidelined, children become more vulnerable to political indoctrination that undermines respect for family, faith, and country. If truth and morality can be reshaped on demand to suit the latest progressive cause, then the deeply held convictions of ordinary North Carolinians are dismissed as offensive — or even punished by law.
The path forward is clear: If left-wing policies are allowed to flourish, North Carolina will be pushed farther down this radical road. They must end now.
North Carolinians should thank the representatives who continue to defend traditional values, but they must also hold all lawmakers accountable. Empty promises and double-faced agendas cannot go unchallenged. Citizens must look beyond political rhetoric and the promises of self-described “moderates” and examine legislative actions more closely.
Abby Black is a fellow at the American Journey Experience’s Freedom Rising Fellowship Program.
