Reviewing the Situation: State Government in Transition

Legislative News by Nelda Holder –

Sometimes I simply like to read the Constitution.

More specifically, I like to read the Constitution of the state of North Carolina, where I was born, raised, educated, and given the rich blessings of family and friends combined with a lifetime of social and moral leadership.

Let me share with you a few sections I find particularly appealing. You might want to read them more than once, and listen to what resonates.

Section 14: Freedom of speech and press. Freedom of speech and of the press are two of the great bulwarks of liberty and therefore shall never be restrained, but every person shall be held responsible for their abuse.

Section 15: Education. The people have a right to the privilege of education, and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right.

Section 17: Slavery and involuntary servitude. Slavery is forever prohibited. Involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the parties have been adjudged guilty, is forever prohibited.

Section 19: Law of the land; equal protection of the laws. No person shall be taken, imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the law of the land. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws; nor shall any person be subjected to discrimination by the State because of race, color, religion, or national origin.

Section 21: Inquiry into restraints on liberty. Every person constrained of his liberty is entitled to a remedy to inquire into the Lawfulness thereof, and to remove the restraint if unlawful, and that the remedy shall not be denied or delayed. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.

Savor those words.

We are living in a fractious time. I’m willing to bet if you’ve read this far, you’re quite aware of that and likely looking for a solid walking path forward. So you might want to just start with our own Constitution—at least such compelling parts of it.

The quotes are taken from the Constitution of 1971, which is the third ratified constitution of this state. There have been three official constitutions: the Constitution of 1776; the Constitution of 1868 (obviously, post-Civil War); and the currently governing version. Good reading material for the upcoming winter season, y’all.

Election Reflections for 2024

Since our normal topic for this column is built around the NC General Assembly and the heart and tentacles of state government as centered in Raleigh, here is a mega snapshot of the voters who actually pulled the 2024 levers determining who the leaders of our government will be for the coming two-year legislative session and the four-year terms of state officers and U.S. House representatives. (Small note: State judges at the superior, appellate, and supreme court levels are elected for eight-year terms.)

A large majority of people who voted in this state’s 2024 election identified as either Democrat, Republican, or Unaffiliated. Registration in the state, updated through November 16, shows the total number of registered Democrat as 2,456,298; the number of registered Republicans as 2,350,393; and the total number of Unaffiliated as 2,960,566—making the unaffiliated voting block the largest in the state these days. That remains a factor to be further probed in elections to come.

There are seven additional parties now established in the North Carolina, listed with their current registration totals: Green (3,667); Justice For All (519); Libertarian (49,781); Antiracism (25,387); We The People (1,436). (There are also the Constitution Party and No Labels Party listed on the state website, but the membership number was not included at the time we checked.)

For the record—or in case you’ve been hiding in a voting booth storage room since that final Tuesday night of the voting period—Josh Stein (D)—currently the NC attorney general—will be sworn in as our new governor on January 1, 2025. Stein handily defeated current NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson to succeed two-term Gov. Roy Cooper.

The incoming Council of State is going to include Stein’s backup—Rachel Hunt (D)—the new lieutenant governor, who won with a less-than-two-percent margin in her race against Hal Weatherman (R)—49.52% to 47.65%. That race also had two more contestants—Independent candidate Shannon Bray, who received 1.9% of the vote, and Constitution Party Wayne Jones with not quite 1%. Hunt is the daughter of former Gov. Jim Hunt, so will be treading familiar territory around Raleigh. (Jim Hunt, for newer residents/voters, served two double terms as governor: 1977-1985 and 1993-2001.)

The rest of the Council includes the winner of the seriously contended state attorney general race, current U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson (D) who defeated current US Rep. Dan Bishop (R) by less than 3%. Jackson will replace the currently serving Atty. Gen. Josh Stein (D) as he moves on to become governor.

And a very familiar face will be back at the helm in the Secretary of State’s office—incumbent Elaine Marshall who sure must be doing something right since she has held this office since the mid-1990s. She defeated Republican Chad Brown this year by just over 100,000 votes, however, which was a snug contest. A note about Marshall: She was the first woman elected to a Council of State office (1997).

The NC Auditor’s race was won by less than 100,000 votes by Republican Dave Boliek against Democrat Jessica Holmes. Libertarian Bob Drach garnered 167,607 while Boliek and Holmes’ pulled in 2.5-plus million each.

Another tight race saw Republican incumbent Steve Troxler (R) come out ahead of serious challenger Sarah Taber (D) 2,922,186 to 2,495,557 in the race for Commissioner of Agriculture. The Libertarians fielded another candidate for this slot, too—Sean Haugh, who drew 135,405 votes.

Republican Mike Causey (R) returns as Secretary of Insurance (winning by a 200,000-plus margin against challenger Natasha Marcus (D). Meanwhile, Republican Luke Farley (R) was elected Commissioner of Labor by some 300,000 votes, defeating Democrat Braxton Winston II (D).

Then there was the hotly contested scramble in the race for Super-intendent of Public Instruction, finally won in a squeaker by just over 100,000 votes and going to Democrat Mo Green over Michele Morrow (R).

Finally, pulling the purse strings for the state will be Brad Briner (R), who surpassed Wesley Harris (D) in the contest for Treasurer by just under 300,000 votes.

So the partisan breakdown for the ten top state officials this time around comes in at a five-to-five balance. In the General Assembly, however, Republicans will still hold sway but without—it now appears—their recent supermajority, which had given them the ability to override gubernatorial vetoes.

Just what is the Council of State, you might ask? Its powers include calling the General Assembly into extraordinary session to consider the governor’s mental capacity—perhaps the most “glamorous” stricture—but mostly the Council tends to deal with real property and financial issues including authorizing taking on debt in times of crisis, approving bond issues, and approving of banks or securities in which state funds may be deposited.

Judicial Elections for State Courts

There were four open positions in the state-level court races, including one NC Supreme Court Associate Justice and three NC Court of Appeals seats.

The cliffhanger award goes to the Associate Justice candidates Allison Riggs (D) and Jefferson G. Griffin, who at this writing stand some 24 (that’s twenty-four) votes above Griffin at 2,769,516, with Griffin at 2,769,492. It would seem that all bets are now on a recount for Seat 06.

Republican candidates have the lead in the three Court of Appeals races: Seat 12, Tom Murray (R) leads Carolyn Jennings Thompson (D) 2,809,140 to 2,709,886; Valerie Zachary (R) is ahead of Ed Elred (D) 2,878,668 to 2,627,546 for Seat 14; and Chris Freeman (R) is the apparent winner of Seat 15 with 2,843,936 votes, over Martin E. Moore (D) with 2,653,825.

The Congressional Jigsaw

In the intentionally skewed (see past—and future—coverage) mapping of the state’s 14 US House districts), 10 are currently drawn for Republican majorities, with the remaining four “donated” to the Democrats—begging for a discussion of the state’s apportionment practices that we don’t have time for in this month’s column.

It’s an interesting statewide picture, particularly given the dynamics of electing US presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) statewide followed by a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.

All Roads Lead to Raleigh

And as far as the General Assembly is concerned, it ain’t over till it’s over … at least for 2024. The House and Senate reconvene on Tuesday, November 19, and the supermajority that has allowed numerous House reversals of current Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes will still be there, waiting. One of those is school voucher funding—a bill removing income restrictions for those receiving that financial aid, which we have covered extensively (and with firm opposition). Just before we went to press, the Senate followed the House in overriding Cooper’s veto of the school voucher bill.

But—unless there is a reversal recount—the 2025 General Assembly that convenes in January will see the crumbling of the formidable Republican supermajority in the State House. It seems the House of Representatives will be down by one Republican seat—which is anticipated to be the magic number to curb the veto power that has seriously hamstrung the current governor’s veto powers. That certainly should make the incoming Gov. Stein a happier state leader.

Nelda Holder is the author of The Thirteenth Juror – Ferguson: A Personal Look at the Grand Jury Transcripts.