Two incumbent Democratic representatives in the N.C. House who drew the ire of their base by siding with Republicans in key votes looked set to lose their reelection bids on Tuesday.
Rev. Rodney Sadler opened the night with a big lead over longtime state House member Carla Cunningham in the Democratic primary Tuesday – a result that shifts North Carolina Democrats more to the left. Cunningham outraged some Democrats last year when she cast the deciding vote to help Republicans override a veto by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who had vetoed a bill requiring sheriffs to work closer with federal immigration officials.
With 86% precincts and early ballots reporting, Sadler won 71.69% of the vote. Cunningham trailed with just 20.94%.
Another Democrat, Nasif Majeed, also trailed his challenger by a big margin. Veleria Levy racked up 67.47% of the early vote, while Majeed had 27.12%.
Majeed, a four-term House member, cast a deciding vote to help Republicans override a Stein veto last year. This was for a bill that said there were only two sexes and genders in the state – male and female. Levy’s race didn’t attract the same attention as Sadler against Cunningham. Levy only raised $23,000, according to the most recent campaign finance report. Still, voters appeared ready to loose their anger on Majeed.
Cunningham further upset Democrats when she explained her vote with a speech on the House floor. She said that “all cultures are not equal,” and she said that different immigrant groups need to assimilate.
Cunningham was at first defiant, defending her comments in a fiery town hall held in her northeast Mecklenburg district. But she later apologized for her comments and said she meant to say that all cultures are not the same. She also said she was under stress at the time, and later said Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry McFadden had threatened her before she voted with the GOP.
The sheriff has denied that.
But Cunningham’s veto override on immigration became an even bigger problem for her after federal agents conducted an aggressive immigration sweep in Charlotte last fall.
Sadler’s campaign was energized with at least $131,000 in campaign contributions, according to the most recent campaign finance report. He also benefited from outside spending on his behalf. One group, Conservation Votes PAC, sent a photoshopped mailer showing Cunningham in a red “Make America Great Again” hat.
Stein also endorsed Sadler. And the state Democratic Party declined to give access to the Vote Builder software to Cunningham, and a handful of other Democrats who had sided with Republicans at times.
Sadler had said previously he would uphold Stein’s vetoes. He had previously protested last decade as part of the “Moral Monday” movement against GOP legislation.
Cunningham had held her District 106 seat since 2013. Her late husband had previously held the seat. She had raised nearly $50,000, though she had nearly $75,000 from a previous campaign.
Vermanno Bowman trailed in third.
There is no Republican in the race, meaning the primary winner becomes the next representative automatically.
In all, Cunningham had voted to override 15 vetoes from Democratic governors Roy Cooper and Josh Stein since 2003, while Majeed has sided with the Republican majority on seven vetoed bills.
Last year, Cunningham also voted to override Stein’s veto of a Senate bill that removes Duke Energy’s commitments to reduce carbon emissions.
