Override: GOP dominated legislature has grip on power in state

The Republican-led legislature flexed its muscles this week and handed new Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper the first big defeat of his term by overriding Cooper's veto of a bill that makes district and superior court elections partisan again.

Cooper had better get used to it. In a state where the governor is relatively weak and the legislative body holds the most power, you can expect the House and Senate to dominate the political scene. Such is the case in North Carolina.

We don't happen to agree with the legislature on this issue. We think the move made years ago to make such judicial races non-partisan was a good idea. There is already enough polarizing politics in this state. No need to add more.

But we recognize that is the way it is. Democrats held the power in the legislature for a century until the Republicans took over. Now the GOP is in control and trying to do everything possible to consolidate its power. You can expect to see many judicial candidates flocking to the Republican banner in order to get elected.

Published in Editorials on March 24, 2017 9:48 AM