Weekly Recap: Cooper's court win, Mark Walker's new job and a political party seeks recognition
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker conceded to lobbyist Addison McDowell, saying he wouldn't seek a second primary.
Before we dive into this week’s headlines, I come to you with a giveaway opportunity:
🏀March Madness Contest
Will you be making a March Madness bracket this year? If so, make sure to submit one to the Anderson Alerts group page on ESPN. There’s no entry cost. Brackets are due by noon on Thursday, March 21st, so get those picks in now! I’ll share mine publicly once the deadline hits.
This year, I’ll be giving out two prizes:
1st Place Finisher: Complimentary all-access Anderson Alerts membership through Nov. 5 election
2nd Place Finisher: Complimentary all-access Anderson Alerts membership through May 14 runoffs
*FINE PRINT: If you are already a paid Anderson Alerts member and win, you'll be able to give a subscription to a person of your choice. Unpaid members will get the choice of an all-access membership for themselves or a friend. First and second place winners must email me within a week of their victory to claim prize. Contest is limited to one entry per person. Giveaway is for men’s college basketball bracket.
Now let’s dive into this week’s top stories…
🗳️Elections oversight
The North Carolina State Board of Elections will remain under Democratic control, as a bipartisan panel of judges struck down a GOP law that sought to strip Gov. Roy Cooper of his appointment authority and put appointments in the hands of lawmakers.
Under the proposed law, the State Board of Elections would’ve gone from a 3-2 Democratic majority to a 4-4 split. State lawmakers would’ve also been tasked with appointing 400 county elections officials, likely causing even 2-2 splits.
Superior Court Judges Edwin Wilson, Andrew Womble and Lori Hamilton unanimously sided with Cooper, who had argued the law violated his authority. The judges called the GOP effort “the most stark and blatant removal of appointment power from the Governor” since the state Supreme Court issued similar rulings in 2016 and 2018 separation of powers cases.
Republicans are hoping for a different outcome now that they have a 5-2 conservative majority on the state Supreme Court.
🥊Going the wrong Wray
North Carolina’s most conservative Democrat in the General Assembly, state Rep. Michael Wray, filed election protests in all three of his district’s counties, according to filings with the Halifax, Northampton and Warren County elections boards made on Thursday.
With all counties fully reporting, Wray trails Democratic challenger Rodney Pierce by 35 votes of the 11,939 recorded in House District 27.
In his complaints, Wray claimed seven voters were given incorrect ballots, one voter had their ballot lost and some uncounted provisional ballots should have been recorded. Wray also accused a Pierce supporter of wrongfully electioneering while serving as a poll observer.
North Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton has weighed in on the race. During a Saturday visit to Warren County, Clayton called Pierce a “Rep-elect.”
Under state law, legislative candidates can file for a recount if they trail by 1% or less. Wray currently trails Pierce by 0.3 percentage points. At this time, Wray hasn’t requested a formal recount. He’s hoping a review by three counties will narrow his margin of defeat or compel a new election to be called.
Wray didn’t respond to a request for comment. Pierce has declared victory.
“My opponent seems to want to change the rules more than a week after the contest ended just because he lost,” Pierce said in a statement. “That is not how our elections and our democracy are supposed to work. In a time of a crisis of faith in our institutions, spreading conspiracy theories about our election process is wrong and it has real consequences."
Wray’s apparent defeat hasn’t been officially declared. GOP leaders have relied on Wray to buck his party on key issues and veto override votes. In 2023, Wray sided with the GOP majority in 84% of votes cast— the most of any Democratic lawmaker.
With Pierce in office, Democrats would have a better chance of stymying Republicans’ legislative agenda.
↗️From lobbyist to congressman
Less than 24 hours ahead of a deadline to file for a runoff, former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker announced he was ending his 6th Congressional District campaign, effectively sending lobbyist Addison McDowell to Congress.
McDowell came out on top with 26% of the vote, just shy of the 30% share of the vote needed to claim the GOP nomination outright. Walker, who finished second at 24%, announced on Wednesday that he wouldn’t file for a runoff election against McDowell and would instead join Trump’s campaign.
One hour after publicly calling for McDowell to debate him, Walker got a call from former President Donald Trump. Over the course of about 15 minutes, Walker said he was given a job offer to assist in the presidential campaign’s outreach to racial minorities and religious voters. Walker said Trump also vowed to support him if another open congressional seat emerged in 2026 or 2028.
McDowell secured his win in large part due to a surprise endorsement he received from Trump in December, which was made possible by Donald Trump Jr. and U.S. Sen. Ted Budd. McDowell is a hunting friend of Don Jr.’s and served as a former congressional district staffer to Budd.
I had two stories recapping the finality of the 6th District: one on McDowell’s ascent and another on Walker’s defeat.
I also broke down the race during a Friday news roundup appearance on WUNC’s Due South program.
Will the Constitution Party be added to ballot?
On Wednesday afternoon, the Constitution Party surpassed the number of valid signatures needed for recognition.
State elections officials are now tasked with determining whether party organizers met other criteria needed to have their petition approved.
While the Constitution Party has a less than longshot chance of winning any significant races, they could leave an impact if statewide or local contests prove highly competitive.
🐦Tweet of the Week
We reporters will be covering the issues, but yes, there are also two very large personalities that certainly won’t go ignored.
6 essential reads
GOP nominee to run North Carolina public schools called for violence against Democrats, including executing Obama and Biden (Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck // CNN)
How to lose 100,000 followers in 24 hours (Steve Harrison // WFAE)
North Carolina Gambles On Sports Betting (Storms Reback // The Assembly)
Here's What North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson Said About Adolf Hitler, Jews and the Holocaust (Jordan Liles // Snopes)
Nearly 1,000 mail-in votes in North Carolina primary trashed due to missed deadline, officials say (Julia Kauffman // WCNC)
From hot seat to ACC title: How Kevin Keatts delivered NC State’s greatest moment in 37 years (Andrew Carter // Raleigh News & Observer)
Until next time…
I shall return to your feed in the coming days with a story on transparency in the legislature and why one state senator felt it important to send me 142,675 emails.
Have I read them all? No. Will I get to a sizable portion of them this week? No. Is there an important story to tell? Absolutely.