Voters in NC JUST Punished Democrats Who Helped Republicans #NorthCarolina #Election2026 #democrats

A big story you might have missed on Tuesday night, which was primary election night in three states, Arkansas, Texas, and North Carolina. And you might not have seen what happened in North Carolina, but it's fascinating. North Carolina is a peculiar state. They've got a popular Democratic governor in Josh Stein. But thanks to very intense gerrymandering, Republicans have dominated the state legislature

since 2010. And they've passed increasingly far-right legislation that Democratic Governor Josh Stein has vetoed. Last year, Republicans managed to override many of those vetoes, but only because they were supported by the votes of just a few lone Democrats in the state legislature. Last night, three of those Democrats who sided with Republicans in key legislative fights

faced primary challengers from the left, from frustrated Democrats who said, stop collaborating with Republicans, and the incumbents didn't just lose, they got absolutely shellacked. Representative Carla Cunningham from Charlotte, for example, cast the sole Democratic vote to override Stein's veto

of a Republican bill that forces local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE. In a speech before that vote in July, she said, quote, all cultures are not equal. Cunningham lost her primary to an angry constituent by nearly 50 points. Nassif Majid has represented Mecklenburg for seven years. But last July, when Governor Stein vetoed an anti-Republican, anti-trans bill that he called mean-spirited,

Majid was the lone House Democrat to vote to override the veto. Well, last night, the four-term lawmaker lost his primary to Valeria Levy, a nonprofit administrator, by more than 40 points. And then there's Shelley Willingham of Rocky Mount. When Governor Stein vetoed a Republican bill

to let private school teachers carry concealed guns on campus, Republicans needed just one Democrat to help them override it. They got it from Shelley Willingham. Last night, Willingham lost his bid for a seventh term to a self-identified mom and minister by 12 points. All this suggests there is some real restiveness in the Democratic base about collaborating with Republicans in assault on democracy right now. If I were a Democratic officeholder, I would definitely make sure I familiarize myself

I would definitely make sure I familiarize myself with what happened in North Carolina last night.