North Carolina is in uncharted political territory. Not in well over 100 years has a GOP-controlled legislature welcomed a Democratic governor. When the Republicans took power in 2010, Democrat Bev Perdue still had two years left in her term. In 2012, the legislative leaders welcomed fellow Republican Pat McCrory to Raleigh by muscling him around and making sure he knew his place—and it wasn’t at the head of government.
In Roy Cooper, though, the Republican legislature faces a different kind of leader. Unlike Perdue, he’s not been wounded by a crashing economy. Unlike McCrory, he’s not new to Raleigh politics. Cooper understands state government and how it works. He served in both houses of the legislature before becoming attorney general. He’s surrounding himself with veterans of previous administrations who can hit the ground running. He’s not under the illusion that he’s here to change Raleigh. He’s here to stop the damage.
McCrory began his tenure trying to play nice. He was quickly rolled over by the legislature and forced to take positions that were far more conservative than the Charlotte mayor people thought they had elected. Those first months of his administration made McCrory look weak and floundering, a perception from which he never fully recovered.
Cooper understands that first impressions matter. He has pushed back on everything the legislature’s done to limit his power. He’s suing them for bills passed in a special session last month that shifted power from the executive branch to the legislative branch. He’s trying expand Medicaid despite a law the GOP passed in 2013 that says he can’t. He’s already used his bully pulpit call out the Republicans for overreach while also saying that he wants to work with them.
Cooper has let the legislature know that he’s no pushover and that he’s not afraid of a fight. He also clearly believes that he’s in a better position to negotiate if he’s in an offensive position than a defensive one. And, unlike McCrory, he believes that he can bring the Republicans to the negotiating table. While McCrory never could figure out how to deal with House Bill 2, Cooper is pushing forward with repeal efforts despite the failure in December.
Republicans still maintain a veto proof majority but they have caucuses in both houses of the legislature that are more conservative than the state as a whole. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the HB2 repeal effort. The bill played a large part in McCrory’s defeat as well as Josh Stein’s victory for attorney general and both House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro-tem Phil Berger want the law gone. They also want majorities of Republicans in their caucuses to vote for repeal. Cooper, though, has noted that a majority of members of the legislature would vote for repeal, but Republicans would need Democratic votes to get it done.
Conservative leaders and interest groups have a different idea. Organizations like the NC Values Coalition and leaders like Lt. Governor Dan Forrest are putting pressure on Republicans to defend HB2. In heavily gerrymandered districts, Republican legislators are more worried about facing primaries from their right than losing general elections to Democrats.
The balance of power has shifted in Raleigh. Republicans in the legislature who have had a free hand now face a governor who has spent years in state government. Cooper is pushing back with every instrument he has. He may lose some fights, but he won’t be a pushover. Politically, he’s sent the signal that he’s standing up for progressive values and using his bully pulpit to define an agenda.
Republicans, for their part, need to adjust. They’ve pushed North Carolina further right than most people want, especially on social issues. They’ll need to rein in their most conservative members if they want to look like a party willing to compromise. If they don’t, they may find their majorities at risk.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
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