RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) – Gov. Josh Stein said North Carolina voters sent a message calling for more cooperation and a focus on everyday concerns after Democrats made significant gains in the General Assembly.
“The voters of North Carolina made their voices heard loudly and clearly. They want balance. They want common sense in their government,” Stein said Wednesday.
Stein said Democrats flipped the House of Representatives and narrowed the margins in the state Senate. The final balance in the Senate remained uncertain, he said, with one or two races still close.
He urged lawmakers to work on lowering housing, electricity and health care costs, investing in education and public safety, and supporting Western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene.
“The cost of housing, electricity and health care are too high for North Carolina families,” Stein said.
Stein said the federal government has provided about $10 billion to $11 billion in aid for Western North Carolina, while damage from the storm totaled about $60 billion. He called for Congress to approve additional funding before the end of the year and said he would work with Sen.-elect Roy Cooper if it did not.
The governor also said he wants lawmakers to agree on a budget and consider an independent redistricting commission. He said partisan gerrymandering can make legislators more responsive to party pressures than to their districts.
On school vouchers, Stein said lawmakers should discuss how education funding is used, arguing that public schools need more investment. He said North Carolina ranks last in per-child spending on public schools, a figure he attributed to state comparisons.
Stein said he plans to work with whichever leaders the House and Senate choose, and pointed to past bipartisan agreements on Medicaid, storm recovery funding, economic development and law enforcement pay.
The governor said voters want elected officials to focus on issues that affect their lives rather than partisan disputes.
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