Meet Cecil Brockman's replacement
Democratic Rep. Amanda Cook will soon be seated in Raleigh, giving her party extra breathing room and better chances for Gov. Josh Stein to have his vetoes upheld.
After Democratic Rep. Cecil Brockman announced his resignation on Halloween night, Guilford County Democrats tapped Amanda Cook to replace him. Cook is a High Point City Councilwoman and former educator who had already been mounting a primary challenge to Brockman.
Gov. Josh Stein formally signed off on Cook’s appointment last week. While she’s received a legislative email and is on the General Assembly website, she won’t officially become a state House member until a quorum is present to seat her (which isn’t expected to happen until early 2026).
Cook’s new position stands to give Stein and fellow Democrats extra breathing room in the legislature.
House Republicans are one seat shy of a supermajority (the Senate already has a GOP supermajority), giving Stein little wiggle room to have his vetoes sustained.
Even with Cook, Democrats can’t afford to have a single member of their caucus cross party lines or two members absent when a veto override vote is called. Republicans (with help from some Democrats) have already overridden eight of Stein’s 15 vetoes this year, leaving seven measures still on the table.
Brockman often crossed party lines or missed key votes, frustrating his party over the years on hot-button issues that included gun access, funding for public schools, and oversight of nonprofit organizations.
So what can we expect from Cook? I spoke with her last week to find out. The following Q&A has been lightly edited for brevity:
What was your reaction the first time you heard about Rep. Brockman’s arrest?
