There are at least 15 state House and Senate races that were decided by less than a 5% margin in the last election. That’s where NC Democrats need to concentrate their efforts if they want to one day have a larger say in state policy.
In late July, North Carolina House Republicans glanced up at the tally board to confirm a major win: they had successfully overridden multiple vetoes on legislation targeting carbon emissions, transgender rights, and the powers of the state auditor.
Though certainly pleased by a few Democratic defections, some Republicans may have felt a twinge of nostalgia as one of their most reliable allies was missing from the list: Rep. Michael Wray, a Democrat in name but a dependable Republican vote in practice.
The former 20-year incumbent represented House District 27, a rural, majority-Black district in the northeast. Despite being a heavily Democratic seat, Wray sided with Republicans more than 85% of the time. He more often than not helped override former Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes—including a bill requiring local sheriffs to cooperate with ICE and another expanding private school vouchers.
Republicans could usually count on him. Democrats increasingly could not.
So, they fought back.
In March 2024, after numerous protests and recounts, the NC House District 27 Democratic primary delivered a slim but significant political upset: Rodney Pierce, a Black school teacher and political newcomer, defeated Wray by just 34 votes.
In a state House where Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto survives by a single vote, removing Wray—the most notorious defector in the Democratic caucus—has materially strengthened the governor’s ability to block Republican legislation. More than a minor accomplishment, Pierce’s victory illustrates how primaries can be democratic tools of course correction, and lends evidence that meaningful change is indeed possible.
Pierce has since voted against Republican-backed budgets, co-sponsored legislation on voting rights and gun violence prevention, and taken a firm public stand against the expansion of private school vouchers. Most notably, he hasn’t joined Republicans in overriding vetoes from Gov. Stein.
Wray wasn’t your typical Democratic incumbent: he maintained connections to GOP power brokers and business elites. As chair of key House committees and a business owner with ventures in insurance, hardware, farming, and real estate, Wray’s economic footprint—76 properties, plus family co-owned businesses—presented a material distance from the lives of voters in the district, whose median household income is 33% less than the statewide average.
Wray had support from conservative groups, such as the Carolina Leadership Coalition, a nonprofit with explicit Republican ties, which ran mailers backing him. He seemed to embody transactional politics shaped more by donor alignment than by the policy preferences of his constituents—and they took notice.
Pierce’s campaign was just as much about himself as it was about Wray. Pierce strived to educate the district about Wray’s voting record while running on kitchen table issues like affordable housing and healthcare, with an emphasis on comfort. A message of financial comfort is one thing, but I think Pierce wanted voters to feel the same way politically: he wanted to ensure that voters knew their representative was genuinely working for them.
House District 27 is no longer a liability. If Wray were still in office, those veto overrides would’ve more than likely sailed through. Instead, Democrats must now worry about rare breakaways by other party members. A problem, yes—but an improved one!
Controversial legislation like House Bill 171 and Senate Bill 50 now sit on the veto-override chopping block in the upcoming session; Pierce’s steadfastness is not only expected but necessary.
With Wray announcing his campaign to reclaim the seat he lost, voters in North Carolina cannot afford to become complacent. They must continue the effort to shift the balance of power by replicating Pierce’s success across the state—turning narrow primary victories into larger policy overhauls on the state level.
It won’t be easy: North Carolina Republicans have entrenched their control of the legislature through gerrymandering. In 2024, Democrats won 51% of the statewide vote for the House but received just 41% of the seats. The imbalance is even worse in the Senate, where Republicans hold 12% more seats than their share of the vote would suggest.
So, even though Democrats won major statewide races—including governor and Supreme Court—they’ll have to work twice as hard to make similar gains in the legislature.
In my view, the most effective path forward is to focus on key swing districts whose representatives aren’t ideologically aligned with constituents. There are at least 15 state House and Senate races that were decided by less than a 5% margin.
That’s where North Carolina Democrats need to concentrate their efforts if they want to one day have a larger say in state policy.
