The enforcer

Governor Josh Stein is playing in Democratic primaries to strengthen his position in the last half of his term,

Governor Josh Stein is jumping into Democratic primaries for the North Carolina House. Earlier this week, he endorsed Reverend Rodney Sadler who is challenging incumbent Mecklenburg Representative Carla Cunningham. Last month, he endorsed incumbent Rodney Pierce from Halifax County who is being challenged by former Representative Michael Wray, who Pierce defeated in a 2024 primary. Stein says he believes we need more Rodneys in the House. Just kidding, but he does say he might endorse in other primaries.

Stein’s move is about strengthening his political power. Right now, Democrats in the House have a narrow one-vote margin to sustain his veto. However, several House members, including Cunningham, have sided with Republicans to override vetoes, negating the most significant power the party has in legislative politics. When he was in the legislature, Michael Wray frequently voted with Republicans to override then-Governor Roy Cooper’s veto. Stein doesn’t want that headache again.

To have a functioning minority that can push back against the Republican majority, House Democrats need members who will stand together. Representatives like Cunningham, Wray, and Cecil Brockman, the High Point legislator who resigned after being arrested on child sexual abuse charges, sold their votes to Republicans for side deals. They benefited either personally or politically, getting better committee assignments or pork for their districts.

The members who cut these deals always claim they are doing what’s best for their district, but they come at the expense of broader leverage for the Democratic caucus. Without sustaining the governor’s veto, they are taking away the power of Democrats to shape larger legislation, especially the budget. They surrender the minority party’s ability to influence issues like teacher pay, school funding, and health care. In other words, they are selling out Democratic priorities for the state as a whole to get narrow benefits for their districts or themselves.

The sellouts also prevent Democrats from stopping legislation that the governor and a majority of the Democratic caucus have agreed is harmful. It’s one thing if a member opposes the governor or caucus on a matter of principle. It’s another if it becomes a habit. Cunningham voted to override Stein’s veto on four different occasions in his first year in office and Republicans didn’t even have a budget to offer her goodies.

Democrats hope to increase their ability to sustain the governor’s veto by picking up GOP seats in November, but they also need to keep their own members in line. Almost all of the Democrats who vote with Republicans are in safe Democratic districts. They aren’t in marginal districts where voting with Republicans is sometimes necessary to hold their seats.

Leaders of the minority party have few enforcement measures to keep their rank-and-file members in line. They can’t dole out pork or committee assignments. They have limited ability to assign offices or other perks and the ones they do have are often because of the benevolence of the majority party, which means they come with strings attached.

Stein is stepping up as a legislative enforcer. He’s using primaries as a tool to punish disloyalty. He’s also trying to strengthen the Democratic caucus by electing more loyal members, which, in turn, bolsters his veto power. As a minority party, Democrats’ primary job is to stop bad legislation and, in the case of a budget bill, influence spending priorities.

Stein’s moves are intended to empower Democrats in the final two years of his term. He’s trying to reduce the number of House members willing sell their votes, thereby protecting his veto. He’s also sending a message to Democrats tempted to take Republican deals that betrayal comes with a price. If he’s successful, he improves the position of both the House Democrats and his administration heading into 2028.