DECEMBER 2022

NORTH CAROLINA REPORT

Although national election results did not meet the Republican expectations, here in North Carolina we did see a red wave as Republicans easily won all statewide races and picked up seats in both legislative chambers. As predicted, Congressman Tedd Budd defeated former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley in North Carolina by a comfortable margin of approximately 3.6 points. By North Carolina standards, this is a strong victory for any statewide candidate and especially for United States Senate. The Supreme Court Justice seats both went to Republicans by an even wider margin of approximately 5 points each, changing the balance of power on our state’s highest court from 4-3 in favor of Democrats to 5-2 in favor of Republicans. Republicans also won all four Court of Appeals seats by strong margins, expanding their ma jority to now control 11 out of the 15 seats. In the North Carolina Senate, Senator Berger now has a super-majority of 30 Republicans to 20 Democrats – enough to override a gubernatorial veto. Republicans previously held 28 seats in the Senate. The Republican incumbent Senators won all of their competitive races, and they were able to flip two seats previously held by Democrats. In the House, Republicans added two seats bringing the total to 71-49. This is one short of the super-majority as 72 members are needed to override a veto. However, the Governor’s veto power will be considerably weaker this upcoming session as there are usually a small group of Democrat House members who are interested in voting with Republican leadership on certain issues including the state budget. There are no Senate Democrats who would be likely to vote to override, so the Senate super-majority was crucial for Republicans. The Democrats will also be unable to legislate through the Court system as they have in the past few years now that Republicans have taken control. Overall, Republican leadership in North Carolina was pleased with the outcome and the Democrats will be re-organizing as they look ahead to 2024. The North Carolina General Assembly will have a few more committee meetings and a few more procedural, non-voting sessions in November and December before officially adjourning the 2022 Short Session. Next year is a long session year where the state budget and all other legislation is introduced. The Long Session officially begins on January 11 when members return to Raleigh for a ceremony and social events. Members will then return on January 25 to outline the upcoming Session. By February, we will be in full swing.

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