Weekly Recap: Catch up on the news you missed from the past week
North Carolina will have a new auditor, Republicans got a small win in an ongoing redistricting lawsuit, Democrats won a separate courtroom fight over
It’s been a while since we’ve had a full week of news, so the weekly recap returns.
Here’s a look back at the week that was in North Carolina politics:
⚖️ Dems, GOP each get a court win
In a win for Republicans on Monday, a federal judge denied a request for an expedited hearing challenging a newly enacted state Senate map likely to allow Republicans to maintain their supermajority in the chamber.
In a win for Democrats on Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked implementation of a new law Republicans passed to strip Gov. Roy Cooper of his appointment powers on elections boards and instead create evenly split state and county elections boards composed entirely of members chosen by state lawmakers.
🏇 A new state auditor
Cooper on Thursday tapped Democrat Jessica Holmes to take over as state auditor starting Dec. 15.
Holmes becomes North Carolina’s first Black woman to serve on the Council of State and said she’d run for a full four-year term in 2024.
“I’m here today not because I’m Black or not because I’m a woman, but because I’m the person to do the job and my credentials back that up,” Holmes said in a news conference.
She’s a deputy commissioner on the NC Industrial Commission, a former chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners and unsuccessfully ran for labor commissioner in 2020
Luis Toledo, a former assistant state auditor, dropped out of the Democratic primary following Holmes’ appointment, leaving her open to run unopposed in her party.
Holmes will replace Auditor Beth Wood, who abruptly announced her resignation after a grand jury indictment maintained that Wood misused a state vehicle for personal purposes. Wood’s resignation was first reported in this newsletter.
Wood’s resignation came as part of a deal struck with Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, according to a source familiar with the matter. Under the deal, Wood is to avoid a criminal trial, the source said.
🏥 Medicaid expansion launched
On Friday, North Carolina launched Medicaid expansion, providing expanded health care coverage to 600,000 residents, half of whom are automatically enrolled from Day One.
For the remaining 300,000 eligible North Carolinians, they can apply for Medicaid if they meet certain requirements. The criteria include being 19-64 years of age, a resident of North Carolina, a U.S. citizen (or some non-citizens) and an annual household income before taxes as follows:
Single Adults: $20,120 ($1,676 per month or less)
Family of 2: $27,214 ($2,267 per month or less)
Family of 3: $34,307 ($2,859 per month or less)
Family of 4: $41,400 ($3,450 per month or less)
Each additional person: Add $7,094 per year, or $591 per month
🤐 Lack of transparency
North Carolina’s budget eroded open records laws by allowing lawmakers to respond or not respond to public records requests as they see fit, sell or delete any communications they want and have no obligation to turn over internal discussions about redistricting.
A poll from the conservative John Locke Foundation of likely general election voters found that strong majorities of voters in all parties want transparency, think lawmakers should be held to same disclosure standards as other officials and believe greater access to records enhances trust in lawmakers.
Asked if they agree or disagree that state legislators should be held to the same transparency standards as other public officials under open records laws, 92% of respondents agreed, including 89% of Republicans, 93% of Democrats and 94% of unaffiliated voters.
While Democrats could push for a change to the newly weakened public records provisions through a technical corrections bill next year, Republicans are unlikely to tweak the law.
House Speaker Tim Moore attributed the changes to the public records provisions to legal staff and GOP Senate leader Phil Berger.
Berger has attributed the changed open records laws to a dispute between the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which archives public records, and the General Assembly’s Legislative Services Office. But the cultural resources department has refuted any notion of a dispute.
Earlier this week, I dove deeper into the origins of the public records law changes, with context on the levels of transparency voters expect from lawmakers.
🕰️ NC lawmaker attendance and voting records
North Carolina lawmakers have wrapped up the bulk of their work for the year, leaving many to focus their energy on running for reelection or higher elected office.
With candidate filing beginning on Monday, candidates’ voting records and attendance numbers are likely to come under scrutiny. And I made the data available to paid newsletter subscribers.
A couple highlights from the report:
Democratic Reps. Cecil Brockman of Guilford County, Marvin Lucas of Cumberland County and Kelly Alexander of Mecklenburg County and Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County each missed at least one-third of voting sessions
17 lawmakers didn't miss any votes (610 total votes in House and 504 in Senate)
16 GOP lawmakers never broke from the majority. Among the notable names: Reps. Erin Paré of Wake County, Rep. Jon Hardister of Guilford County and Sen. Michael Lee of New Hanover County, who are each expected to have competitive races in 2024
The Democratic lawmaker most likely to join Republicans was Rep. Michael Wray of Northampton County, who sided with the GOP majority in 84% of votes cast. He was followed by Reps. Shelly Willingham of Edgecombe County at 82%, Carla Cunningham of Mecklenburg County at 78%, Garland Pierce of Scotland County at 77%, Kelly Alexander of Mecklenburg County at 76% and Cecil Brockman of Guilford County at 75%
The Republican lawmaker most likely to side with Democrats and away from the majority was George Cleveland of Onslow County, who broke from the majority in 11% of votes cast. Cleveland was followed by Reps. Mitchell Setzer of Catawba County at 8% and Keith Kidwell of Beaufort County at 7%
💰 Campaign finance quirks
In partnership with The Assembly, I broke down a quirk in campaign finance law that gives a small financial incentive for congressional members to ditch D.C. and instead seek office in North Carolina.
This spells good news for two congressmen now running for attorney general, Democrat Jeff Jackson and Republican Dan Bishop, who can each transfer up to $6,400 before the primary and another $6,400 after the primary.
🙏 Giving Tuesday update
Thank you all to have joined the Anderson Alerts family since my Giving Tuesday message went out. All net proceeds from individual subscribers for the remainder of this month are going to charity, so now is a great time to join. Organizations that received support this past week included Note in the Pocket, A Place at the Table, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.
👀 What to watch for
There will be two main things to watch for this week: The start of candidate filing and a possible congressional map lawsuit.
Candidates running for Congress, Council of State and several judicial races will flock to Raleigh on Monday for the start of candidate filing. Filing begins at noon Monday and ends on Dec. 15.
You can keep up with all the latest happenings by bookmarking my running spreadsheet of candidates.
Meanwhile, it’s been 40 days since lawmakers enacted new legislative and congressional voting maps. For weeks, a congressional lawsuit has long been expected. Will this be the week we finally see one?
📖 5 Essential reads
Dozens of new laws in North Carolina started Dec. 1. Here’s what they do (Dawn Vaughan // Raleigh News & Observer)
Scoop: Students for Trump founder charged with assault (Lucille Sherman // Axios Raleigh)
NC Democratic Party approves new Jewish caucus (Andy Specht // WRAL)
9 candidates, little power: Why is North Carolina's lieutenant governor's race so popular? (Colin Campbell // WUNC)
Medicaid expansion in N.C. launches today, here are answers to some common questions (Jaymie Baxley // NC Health News)
Thank you!
Thank you so, so much to all new and existing Anderson Alerts members who wrote in with charity recommendations. A reminder: I don’t contribute to political causes.
At the end of the year, I’ll provide a note on the impact your support of this newsletter has had.
I shall return to your feed again as news develops. And if you want to keep up with all the candidate filing developments, don’t forget to bookmark the spreadsheet.