The House has completed action on a constitutional amendment creating a nonpartisan commission to nominate judges to fill judicial vacancies on merit. The vote came over objections from the chamber’s top Democrat that it was a ploy to expand the Supreme Court, and pack it with Republicans. Senate Bill 814, the Judicial Vacancy Sunshine Act,...
A constitutional amendment setting up a merit-selection commission to fill judicial vacancies has won preliminary House approval. House members approved Senate Bill 814, the Judicial Vacancy Sunshine Amendment, 72-48, Wednesday, June 27. It received the minimum votes required to pass a constitutional amendment. The Senate passed the measure 34-13 on Monday. The House will take...
Despite vigorous arguments from opponents, the N.C. Farm Act of 2018 became law over Gov. Roy Cooper’s objections. It’s one of five veto overrides the House enacted during the early part of Wednesday’s legislative session. The House voted 74-45 to override Senate Bill 711, which Republicans said was vital to protect farmers and the agriculture...
Republicans used their supermajority status to override a pair of Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes of legislation intended to, in the GOP’s view, inject fairness and security into elections. The vetoes also disqualified three Constitution Party candidates in the process. “It’s a terrible precedent for the General Assembly to change the rules of an election in...
Several incumbents and establishment-backed candidates lost in the May 8 primary, but those results may not signal a trend. Or offer any broader message about this fall’s general election, an expert on state voting patterns said in a post-election event. “I think we should caution against thinking that because eight incumbents lost in a primary...
The Rev. Mark Harris, who lost the 2016 Republican primary in the 9th Congressional District by 134 votes, won a rematch Tuesday with three-term incumbent Rep. Robert Pittenger. Harris’ stunning win was one of many surprises in North Carolina’s 2018 election cycle — the first major test the state’s elected officials have faced with divided...
Debate got testy Friday, April 27, as the Joint Select Committee on Judicial Reform and Redistricting discussed two House-passed bills awaiting action in the Senate. Republicans say having the General Assembly rather than the governor fill some judicial vacancies would make the process more transparent and accountable. Democrats say such a shift would be a...
N.C. Republican Party Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse said Democrats’ efforts to compel information from him would chill political speech. Woodhouse hosted a press conference Thursday, April 19, at state party headquarters. He said on April 9 he was served a subpoena forcing him to give a sworn deposition in a civil lawsuit the state Democratic...
Republican primary, House District 67: Cabarrus and Stanly counties. Justin Burr (incumbent, five terms). Education: Stanly Community College, Campbell University (no degree). Occupation: Bail agent; licensed real estate broker. Career highlights: Vice-chairman, House Appropriations Committee. GOPAC Emerging Leader (2013): Defender of Liberty, American Conservative Union. Wayne Sasser. Education: UNC-Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy. Occupation: Pharmacist...
It’s being called a historic milestone. But just because every state legislative seat will be contested in this year’s general election for the first time in memory doesn’t mean most races will be competitive. “Not every candidate is created equal, nor is every campaign created equal, though you have to have players on the field...
Couples therapy might be dissolving into irreconcilable differences after Thursday’s bumpy initial meeting of the Joint Select Committee on Judicial Reform and Redistricting. During more than three hours of presentations and questioning, Democrats and Republicans often seemed to talk past one another, unlike the more collegial atmosphere in meetings of a special Senate committee on...
