The North Carolina General Assembly is a top target of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) for the upcoming election cycle due to its razor-thin supermajority margins.
The DLCC is the Democratic Party’s arm that works to elect Democrats to state legislatures nationwide. This week, the group unveiled its target map for the 2025-2026 election cycle, with North Carolina making the list of 11 target legislatures.
Considered a “power-building” state, the North Carolina House and Senate offer Democrats the “best opportunities to gain seats in tough chambers and check MAGA extremism, including by defending the veto power of Democratic governors.”
While the North Carolina Senate retained its Republican supermajority margin capable of overriding the Democrat governor following the 2024 election, the House lost one Republican seat, costing the chamber its supermajority status. The DLCC said work to defend its ground will continue in the cycle ahead.
“North Carolina fits here because we must protect Governor Josh Stein’s veto pen,” said DLCC Political Director Jeremy Jansen during a Friday press conference. “His veto power rests on a single seat in the House right now, and we must defend that progress that we made from last cycle.”
Alaska, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin make up the top-tier “battleground states,” which are the most competitive states where majorities are determined by the slimmest of margins, according to DLCC. These states include multiple chambers where the party in power will be decided by a single seat. The Maine House and Senate are on the “watch list” with extremely thin Democratic majorities.
“This map pinpoints exactly where resources will go the furthest to tip the balance of power this cycle and leading up to redistricting in 2030,” Jansen stated.
The DLCC aims to build state power for 2030 redistricting, something that will impact state and federal politics through 2040. DLCC President Heather Williams offered insights into the new target map as they eye new congressional maps that state legislatures will create in five years.
“Beyond the most consequential opportunities for this cycle, our target map also considers what’s needed for Democrats to build state power by the end of the decade,” said Williams. “In 2030, state legislatures will draw maps for state houses and congressional districts for the US House of Representatives for the next decade. Republicans have historically dominated this process, and with more than 280 seats drawn by state legislatures, our work to build back and shape the next decade of power starts now.”
As Washington experiences transformations under complete Republican control, Democrats have emphasized the importance of state politics. Williams said there’s never been a more important time to watch what’s happening in the states.
“State legislatures are the only ballot level with the power to fight back against Project 2025 and Republicans take over of Washington. This is also the only place where Democrats are in majorities and can pass any kind of proactive agenda,” she said. “This is also the most powerful ballot level to respond to the chaos and dysfunction in Washington. For example, as Trump recklessly threatens to dismantle the Department of Education, it will be on the state legislatures to pick up the pieces and support programs kids rely on.”
While Democrats begin to highlight the power of the states, conservative policy proposals, like ending the Department of Education and FEMA, have centered around returning power to the states and the people more closely connected to their local governments.
DLCC leaders said one of the clear lessons learned from the electorate in 2024 is that affordability is a big issue that Democrats at the state level are focused on this year.
“The point is, they’re working in their states to impact the lives of everyday folks and help address issues of affordability and economic opportunity. And so, while that’s not the only thing that folks are doing, we do see that as a common theme of some of the policies that Democrats are out there introducing in states,” said Jansen.