‘Seat at the table’: Democrats break GOP supermajority in NC House

CHARLOTTE — North Carolina’s presidential race may have gone to Republican Donald Trump, but there was a major shift in the state’s balance of power.

Democrats took the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General races, and they broke the GOP supermajority in the House.

Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz looked at the impact of the blue swing. Before Tuesday night, Republicans had the supermajority by one seat.

>>ELECTION RESULTS

In Tuesday’s election, Democrats lost one district but flipped and won two others.

Two of those races were in the Charlotte area. Democrat Diamond Staton-Williams lost her state House district in Cabarrus County to Republican Jonathan Almond. But Beth Helfrich was able to flip House District 98, which covers parts of Lake Norman like Cornelius and Davidson.

It now means the Republicans maintain a stronghold in the North Carolina House, but not a supermajority. That means they won’t be able to override a veto by Governor-elect Josh Stein unless they flip a Democrat to their side.

Over in the state Senate, Republicans will maintain and overwhelming majority, with 31 members to Democrats’ 19.

Political Science Professor Michael Bitzer told Sáenz this could impact how laws are passed over the next few years.

“It gives Democrats a seat at the table in terms of legislative policymaking,” Bitzer said. “Now the governor’s veto will not just be ceremonial and potentially de facto, but now Governor-elect Stein has some input on what the legislature is going to be passing.”

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Bitzer says we could see deals being made for certain policies, knowing Stein’s veto has some power.

There are also two state races that are still razor thin in south Mecklenburg County, though their outcomes likely won’t change anything. As of Wednesday, Republican Trisha Cotham led Democrat Nicole Sidman by 275 votes. In Senate District 42, Democrat Woodson Bradley leads Republican Stacie McGinn by 27 votes.

The Mecklenburg County Board of Elections will start to count mail and provisional ballots on Thursday.

(VIDEO > NC Governor’s Race: Stein projected to win, AP reports)