Soon to be former Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, will serve as our next governor. Credit: Facebook
Despite the disappointment felt by progressives and most in the LGBTQ+ community in the wake of Donald Trump’s election over Democratic presidential contender and current Vice President Kamala Harris, North Carolina was able to pull off a handful of much needed wins, including breaking the former legislative super majority held by Republicans.
In the place of Roy Cooper, come January, Democrat Josh Stein will be taking up residence in the Governor’s mansion, beating out lieutenant governor Mark Robinson 54 percent to 40.2 percent. Robinson, who has been reported on many times in Qnotes prior to the election, consistently took aim at the LGBTQ+ community, women and other marginalized groups well before CNN’s report on Robinson’s purported past adult bookstore and sex website activities made headlines.
Democrat Rachel Hunt will be joining Stein at the top of North Carolina’s legislature as the new lieutenant governor, displacing Robinson entirely.
Additional Democratic party accomplishments achieved this voting cycle include Dante Pittman’s winning of a state House of Representatives seat over first-term Representative Ken Fontenot. Before the election, Republicans held 60 percent of the legislative seats, positioning the political group with a supermajority in the North Carolina chamber, which gave them the power to override all gubernatorial vetoes. Pittman’s win breaks the Republican’s grasp on legislative power, dissolving the supermajority, although they still hold onto a greater number of seats.
Other wins of the night include Jeff Jackson taking the Attorney General role over Dan Bishop, Elaine Marshall maintaining her position as Secretary of State over newcomer Chad Brown, Mo Green‘s election to the office of State Superintendent over Michelle Morrow, and three house seats, including the Second District’s Deborah Ross, the Fourth District’s Valerie Foushee, and the 12th District’s Alma Adams.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a wing of the Democratic Party dedicated to winning state legislatures nationwide, released a statement in light of all the victories achieved for 2024: “Republicans have wielded their toxic supermajorities to enact an extreme agenda, including an egregious abortion ban, that was wildly out of step,” remarked Heather Williams, the group’s president. “Newly elected Democrats will play a key role in holding Republicans accountable as we work together to eventually overcome the … gerrymandering and other structural barriers to true representation in North Carolina.”