This election may possibly change that direction. Democrats won a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, they broke the super-majorities in both houses of the NC General Assembly, and they swept the appellate court elections. Now, Governor Roy Cooper will have more power, and Republicans will find it harder to continue the economic and conservative reforms they started 8 years ago.
Also positive news, both Congressmen Ted Budd and George Holding won their elections (both of them by 51% to 45%), which started out with narrow margins, but ended with pretty big wins. None of the important congressional races in the state were flipped. Congratulations to all of our conservative Congressmen who won back their seats!
In the General Assembly, conservatives held on to majorities in both the House and the Senate. However, Democrats took enough seats (9 in the House and 6 in the Senate) to destroy the Republican supermajorities in both chambers. That means they will not be able to override a Cooper veto without help from Democrats. Republicans hold 29 seats in the Senate, versus 21 seats for Democrats, while Republicans hold 66 seats in the House, versus 54 seats for Democrats. There were some big losses for Republicans, including almost clean sweeps of Wake and Mecklenburg counties. Republicans won only one Senate seat in Wake County—Senator John Alexander's—losing 4 House seats and 1 Senate seat there. Republicans won only one Senate seat—Senator Dan Bishop's—and one House seat—Representative Brawley's which is currently held by only 52 votes—in Mecklenburg County, losing 2 House seats and 1 Senate seat there. Because some of these races were won by Democrats with razor thin margins, Republicans have the possibility of regaining one or more of them.
The saddest news of the night was the defeat of Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jackson, who lost to George Soros-endorsed Anita Earls. Anita Earls founded and led the Southern Coalition for Social Justice until recently. She has been a key player in legal challenges to voter ID laws and legislative and U.S. House districts adopted by the General Assembly. Democrats now hold 5 of the 7 seats on the State Supreme Court. Equally sad news was the defeat of all three conservative candidates for the State Court of Appeals—Andrew Heath, Chuck Kitchen, and Jefferson Griffin. Expect a lot more challenges in state court to the good reforms that the General Assembly has passed in the last 8 years.
Finally, four of the six Constitutional Amendments on the ballot passed. Voters overwhelmingly adopted Amendments requiring Voter ID, giving victims of crime new rights, protecting hunting and fishing, and capping state income tax rates at 7%.
Our coalition was active on the ground and online across several important races. We're not exaggerating when we tell you that the team here at NC Values worked above-and-beyond to make the most strategic impact possible. We worked through vacations, long-nights, and early mornings to create tools and place communications that reached over 250,000 targeted voters.- Of the 10 Congressional candidates NCVC endorsed, all 10 won their elections.
- Of the 13 Senate candidates NCVC endorsed, 11 won their elections.
- Of the 43 House seats NCVC endorsed, 36 won their elections.
We have a lot to be grateful for this election—and above all, we're grateful to you. By supporting us financially, and trusting us as a voice for your values, you make our part in these victories possible. From the bottom of our hearts, we want you to know that we're so very grateful for your support and service.
With that said, there's still a lot of work to be done. While we can claim a victory at the federal levels, this election has revealed the depth that outside money and out-of-state activist groups have gone to impact our local elections. Leftists billionaires like George Soros and Tom Steyer have had their eyes set on changing the local political landscape, and they have set out to do just that. They will spend and say whatever it takes to push North Carolina values out and bring in their progressive, anti-Christian values.
We hope that you will partner with us in this new political season as we attempt to push back against this outside money, by reclaiming our local and statewide politics for the values we adhere to as followers of Jesus Christ.