Weekly Recap: Catch up on the news you missed from 4/16-4/22
Mark Robinson launched his 2024 gubernatorial campaign, state lawmakers passed a bill to prevent transgender girls from competing in female youth sports and House members introduced a flurry of bills.
Greetings all, let’s get straight into the news of the week…
🐘Mark Robinson formally launches gubernatorial bid
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson kicked off his gubernatorial campaign on Saturday. He’s the frontrunner in the GOP primary. State Treasurer Dale Folwell is already in the race, and former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker could soon enter the Republican field.
In a speech in Alamance County, Robinson walked the tightrope of appealing to his hardline base of supporters, while simultaneously seeking to soften his K-12 education rhetoric and anti-abortion beliefs.
Back when I sat down extensively with Robinson last year, he articulated a desire to outlaw abortion in all cases, though he said he likely wouldn’t veto legislation that made exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. Robinson said at the time that he thought the state’s 20-week ban didn’t go far enough, that he’d work to make North Carolina the “most pro-life state in the Union” and would seek to impose “dire consequences” on doctors who unlawfully perform the medical procedure. “I don’t think abortion should ever happen,” he had told me.
On Saturday, his tone shifted. He called for a ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.
“You all know how I feel about abortion, but I want to make my position clear: We need to do things to ensure that North Carolina is known as a destination state for life,” Robinson said. “We need common-sense legislation to prevent abortions after a heartbeat is detected.”
The position puts him in line with some of the most vocally anti-abortion Republican state lawmakers, though GOP leaders have signaled that a bill this year may wind up with a ban around 12 or 13 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.
Robinson, who has previously chastised the state education system for what he perceives as mass indoctrination, made an effort to appeal to teachers in his speech on Saturday. He called for them to get pay raises, be treated professionally and have less of a parenting and counseling role in students’ lives.
“With very few exceptions, teachers are doing incredible work in this state,” he said on Saturday, adding that “the vast majority of our parents, teachers and students have nothing to do with the failing of our education system."
But the speech also revealed the more boisterous glimpses of the Mark Robinson that North Carolinians have come to know over the past couple years. He joked at the top of his speech about going off the teleprompter to keep his staff on edge. Robinson also took exception to criticisms he has received since becoming lieutenant governor.
Robinson bashed a 2021 WRAL editorial cartoon depicting him as a member of the Ku Klux Klan and said the political establishment fears his potential governorship because he can’t be tamed or controlled.
“I know I have my detractors, but I really don’t care,” Robinson told his supporters.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, who is the lone prominent Democrat running for governor, took to Twitter after Robinson’s speech to set up a contrast between himself and the lieutenant governor.
“Next year, the people of North Carolina have a crystal clear choice,” Stein said in a video message on Twitter. “Will we elect as our governor someone who fights for us or someone who fights the culture wars? As your attorney general, I have taken on big fights for the people of North Carolina and won. Mark Robinson, he speaks hate and sparks division.”
📁Flurry of bills
On Tuesday, North Carolina House lawmakers unveiled 163 bills amid a deadline to file legislation. I then highlighted a dozen of some of the most impactful, unique and contentious plans put forward.
Among the plans: Treating drag performers as child abusers by punishing them to up to 150 days in jail for shows on public property or in front of children, putting police officers’ mailing addresses and phone numbers out of public view and allowing partisan poll observers to move more freely around voting sites.
If you aren’t already a paid newsletter subscriber receiving mid-week updates, I’d highly recommend joining so you can check out more details about some of the latest proposals Republicans and Democrats are putting forward as the end of the first half long session nears.
🏊Bill prohibiting trans girls from playing female sports passes
Republican-led efforts to prevent biological males from competing in female athletic events cleared the Senate on Thursday and House on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 631 focuses on limiting potentially unfair competition in middle school and high school athletic events, while House Bill 574 also would apply to college sports teams. The two Republican-led chambers are now tasked with working out their differences to send a final bill to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
The Senate proposal passed along party lines, while the House plan cleared with support from all Republicans in attendance as well as three Democrats— Reps. Garland Pierce, Shelly Willingham and Michael Wray. Also of note: Rep. Tricia Cotham, who joined the Republican Party earlier this month, sided with her fellow House GOP members.
While Republicans view the gender-based sports restrictions as a common-sense way to protect the integrity of women’s athletic competitions, Democrats see it as a threat to a small group of students who are already susceptible to an increased likelihood of anxiety, depression and thoughts of suicide.
Who are North Carolina’s swingiest lawmakers?
On Monday, I released an analysis of key votes from state lawmakers. While Republicans have largely voted as a bloc, Democrats in the House have frequently splintered.
The House has passed 10 bills (including House budget plan) with provisions similar to measures previously vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
At some point since the start of the legislative session, 22 of 49 House Democrats sided with Republicans on at least one measure. Of those 22 members, 12 supported measures similar to ones previously vetoed by Cooper at least twice. Of those 12 members, five emerged as showing a pattern of routinely supporting bills Cooper opposed: Reps. Cecil Brockman, Cotham, Pierce, Willingham and Wray.
Why it matters: Republicans enter a pivotal portion of the long session with the veto-proof margins they have sought since losing supermajorities in 2019. But if there are any cracks in the GOP armor, especially with Cotham, Democrats will have little to no margin for defections. Brockman has been the most absent swing member on key bills, while Wray and Willingham have shown a pattern of routinely crossing party lines.
📖5 essential reads
What’s Behind Tricia Cotham’s Democratic Divorce (Jim Morrill // The Assembly)
The GOP’s new electability problem: North Carolina (Zach Montellaro and Natalie Allison // Politico)
Bill proposing governance overhaul of community college system moves forward (Hannah McClellan // EdNC)
NC Republicans are poised to expand private school vouchers to all students (Dawn Vaughan // Raleigh News & Observer)
DPI report shows progress in learning loss recovery (David Bass // Carolina Journal)