What comes next? Democratic politicians who represent Charlotte on what they hope the blue wave means locally
by Ashley Fahey
The Charlotte Ledger
Celebrations at the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party’s watch party on Tuesday night began early in the evening, when Democrat Roy Cooper was called to win his race for U.S. Senate, replacing retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and flipping the seat blue — a crucial win for Democrats, who took control of the U.S. Senate later on Tuesday night.
The volume at Lenny Boy Brewing never let down as key returns came in: When Democrats took the U.S. House of Representatives, when Annie Andrews won her race for U.S. Senate in South Carolina, and when several state and local seats were held by Democrats or flipped red to blue.
One York County resident at the Meck Dems party, about an hour after Andrews’ race was called, said that he still couldn’t believe Andrews’ win, noting as her victory speech played on a large screen that the Senator-elect herself seemed surprised. South Carolina hasn’t had a Democratic Senator since 1998.
Some people at Tuesday night’s party didn’t even claim to be a Democrat, but said they felt motivated to vote for Democratic candidates as a response to President Donald Trump and Congressional leadership.
Thomas Blue, 58, an uptown resident and a Charlotte native, said he is registered unaffiliated and normally is a split-ticket voter. In fact, he said, he’s voted for a Democratic president in only two of the past five elections. But he voted full-ticket Democrat this time around — and, he said Tuesday night, he doubts he’ll vote for GOP candidates again.
“It’s the complete utter disregard for the Constitution, corruption, throwing the rule of law out of the window,” Blue said, adding he is a veteran who fought in two wars and that democracy is what he fought for both times. “Even though I may not agree with the Democrats on all of the big issues, they’re not threatening our democracy. And for me, that is just fundamental.”
Democratic candidates, party leaders and elected officials who spoke to The Ledger on Tuesday night emphasized the affordability message that most party candidates have been leaning into this election season.
U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, who sailed to reelection in North Carolina’s 12th congressional district, which covers most of Charlotte, said in an interview that issues around healthcare, affordable housing, grocery prices and ending the war in Iran were top of mind for her next term.
“We’re going to be working on [affordability] intensely, and we’re going to start on day one, making sure that we bring some credibility, some accountability back to the U.S. government,” she said, adding that she hoped Republican colleagues would come to the table with Democrats on key issues that, she says, are bipartisan. “Everybody has to eat, everybody needs healthcare,” she said.
Several local elected officials said they hoped more Democratic power in the General Assembly will give Charlotte and Mecklenburg County a bigger presence at the table in statewide policies and on key issues.
That’s because, on Tuesday night, Democrats gained control of the N.C. House of Representatives. The state Senate hadn’t been called by Wednesday morning, but looked likely to stay in GOP control, although Democrats broke the supermajority that Republicans previously held.
Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners Chair Mark Jerrell, who won reelection on Tuesday night as an unopposed candidate, said he hopes there will be a better understanding at the General Assembly of what Mecklenburg County residents contribute to the state and region. Funding public education and making sure taxes are properly distributed are among the issues he hopes are addressed as more Democrats are elected to the General Assembly.
But, he added, this isn’t the time to “just arbitrarily do things. We need to be strategic, we need to be methodical, we need to let the data show us where to go,” Jerrell added.
Charlotte City Council member Danté Anderson said that Charlotte will soon have 1 million residents. “We’re a city of consequence, and we need partners in Raleigh. We also need partners in Washington, D.C. It looks like we’re going to have partners who think about affordability, think about our working-class families and making things affordable for Charlotteans.” She specifically mentioned cuts to SNAP benefits as an issue of concern.
Wesley Harris, chair of the Meck Dems, said he hopes to see more policies that invest in communities, infrastructure and education with more Democratic leadership at the state and federal levels.
“If they want a budget, if they want anything, they will have to compromise,” Harris said when asked about what Democratic state leaders working with the GOP moving ahead looks like.
Former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, a Democrat, said she expected some races or ballots nationally to be challenged and lawsuits to be filed alleging fraud. “We don’t know where, we don’t know how much, but we’re telling people to be patient,” she said.
Roberts noted that if the Democrats take the N.C. House of Representatives and there's a tie in the state Senate, the lieutenant governor (Democrat Rachel Hunt) could break the tie.
“Democrats are very happy tonight, but they also are eyes wide open about the work,” Roberts said.
Ashley Fahey is The Ledger’s managing editor. Reach her at ashley@cltledger.com.
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