The day after Democrats secured their most resounding North Carolina electoral victories in a generation, Gov. Josh Stein called for a spirit of compromise between his party and legislative Republicans.
Speaking outside of the North Carolina Governor's Mansion, the first-term Democrat urged lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly to work with his administration and each other to prioritize what he believes voters were calling for Tuesday night.
"The voters want leaders who work together on their behalf," Stein said. "Our job as those elected leaders is to listen and to work together because we can work together to lower costs. The costs of housing, electricity and healthcare are too high for North Carolina families. We can work together to keep people safe."
Democrats flipped at least 16 seats in the N.C. House of Representatives on Tuesday night, not only winning the chamber for the first time since 2019 but potentially turning what was effectively a Republican supermajority into a Democratic supermajority. And they won four seats in the N.C. Senate — with Republican Sen. Danny Britt winning by less than 300 votes in a fifth after election day — to come close to taking control of that chamber, too.
Stein admitted that while he'd expected Democrats to have a good night and potentially take control of the N.C. House, he was taken aback at the scope of the party's victories. The governor said he was surprised at the outcome of "dozens" of races.
"I didn't see the extent to which voters wanted this much change. I knew folks were frustrated. I know that they felt that government wasn't responsive to what they cared about," Stein said.
He continued, "But you know, I looked at the polls like everybody else did, and I thought it was a slightly better than even chance that Democrats would control the House in state general assembly. Did I think they would get to 71 or 72 seats? Never did I think that was possible."
Passing a budget is one of Stein's top focuses for the long session, along with securing additional aid for western North Carolina's recovery from Helene and ensuring that the state continues to be poised for economic growth by investing in its workforce and economic development.
It is possible that a General Assembly where one chamber is controlled by Republicans and the other is controlled by Democrats could lead to gridlock. But the last biennium also saw gridlock in a General Assembly where Republicans controlled both chambers, with the state only passing a $34 billion budget in the latter half of the biennium, following months of closed-door negotiations between legislative Republicans.
The ordeal became a symbol of how the General Assembly works — or doesn't work, particularly to hundreds of thousands of state employees who needed to wait more than a year for raises even as inflation outpaced those they would eventually receive.
Stein signaled Wednesday that he hopes the episode is not repeated in 2027, saying he is "going to work very intently" with leaders in both the House and Senate on the budget bill.
"Let's just sit down and start talking about what my priorities are, what your (House) priorities are, what your (Senate) priorities are and how can we put them together — those puzzle pieces — in a way that it actually creates a beautiful picture for the state of North Carolina," Stein said.
Stein noted that he and legislative Republicans have been able to work together so far, including coming to an agreement to fully fund the state's Medicaid program last year after a months-long standoff, passing three bills to boost western North Carolina's recovery and passing a budget that secured significant raises for teachers.
Stein said he wants to continue that, working with presumed incoming Speaker of the House Robert Reives, D-Chatham, and "whoever controls the Senate" to focus on voters' top priorities.
"If they do, everyone can get reelected. That's just what voters want. They want people who serve them," Stein said.
Stein also addressed the shorter term, saying that if legislative Republicans return for a lame duck session they should not engage in power grabs or political gamesmanship but instead focus on the issues that matter to North Carolina voters. Still, he said, he would prefer lawmakers to not have a lame duck session.
"It's not necessary that they actually come back in a lame duck session. I know that was the plan before, but my view is that the voters spoke pretty daggum loud last night about who they want making decisions for them," Stein said.
