Yesterday was primary Election Day in North Carolina, and MVP grantee partners won BIG, supporting bold Democrats to win massive victories! These wins will help Democrats defeat Republicans up and down the ballot in November, including flipping a pivotal U.S. Senate seat and safeguarding a key U.S. House incumbent — so we can flip both chambers of Congress. (And in Texas, the U.S. Senate primaries may have just set the stage for a Democratic upset in November — read more below!)
VICTORY! How North Carolina just replaced three Dems who voted with MAGA.
Requiring local law enforcement to collude with ICE! Forcing teachers to make lists of the books in their classrooms! Slashing climate protections! This isn’t only a MAGA dreamscape; it’s also just some of the policies that three Democratic North Carolina House reps voted for — alongside Republicans — in 2025.
These so-called Democrats not only voted for these bills once, but voted again to override Democratic Governor Josh Stein’s vetoes.
But guess what: Yesterday, with the help of MVP partners, all three of those GOP-voting Democrats lost their jobs — BIG TIME. Rev. Rodney Sadler defeated incumbent Carla Cunningham in House District 106, Patricia Smith defeated incumbent Shelly Willingham in House District 23, and Veleria Levy defeated incumbent Nasif Majeed in House District 99.
Not only that, our partners helped two more Democrats win their primaries, which will make it easier to block a Republican supermajority in the North Carolina House and win big federal races in November.
These wins open the door for a bolder, stronger Democratic party in one of our country’s most important swing states.
Blocking a GOP Supermajority
For the past decade, North Carolina has been living on a razor’s edge of having a GOP supermajority in the state House (aka enough Republican votes in the House to override the Democratic governors’ vetoes of bad bills).
Republicans’ supermajority status has flipped back and forth four times in the last six years, with control of the state — even when there is a Democratic governor — decided by one seat in the state legislature. And every single flip back and forth was decided by less than 1,000 votes in key and extremely close state House races.
Last night, Democrats — supported by MVP partners — got two steps closer to breaking that razor’s edge GOP supermajority trend by securing primary victories for incumbent Democrats, Rodney Pierce in House District 27 and Amanda Cook in House District 60.
Photo: MVP Southern Regional Field Director, Jillian Johnson, with HD-106 primary election winner, Democrat Rev. Rodney Sadler, on Election Night.
Shout-out to MVP’s homegrown NC hero!
These North Carolina victories are all the more sweet because we get to celebrate MVP partners and the winning candidates, but also our very own Jillian Johnson — MVP’s Southern Regional Field Director and North Carolina State Advisor.
A Durham resident living in North Carolina for almost 30 years, Jillian was at Rev. Rodney Sadler’s victory party last night in Charlotte watching election returns come in. As she watched the win margins tick up and up for our partners’ endorsed candidates, she told us, “this is completely blowing my mind!”
Jillian is the best in the biz when it comes to knowing the politics of North Carolina. Her confidence in what our partners are capable of and the power of North Carolinians to show up is always strong, but this was next level. Her unending guidance and close collaboration with our partners — she was literally out at the polls supporting Rodney Pierce in HD-27 on Monday, y’all! — helped make these victories possible. Because of her, our partners made the strategic decision to challenge three Democrats who were not fighting for their constituents, and now those Dems are out! Shout-out to Jillian, and congratulations on these hard-fought wins!
Photo: A first-time North Carolina voter casting a ballot in the primary elections.
When we fight, we win!
Weak Dems Out, Strong Dems In
Yesterday’s victories prove that North Carolinians want leaders who will fight for working-class people. In this ever-important battleground state, we need bold Democrats running for office that voters want to elect. Not voting with Republicans is the bare minimum — and these primary victories help to raise the bar for Democrats across the state.
MVP partners helped secure primary election victories for three Democrats who are unapologetic in their commitment to defending our communities, protecting our rights, and fighting for working-class North Carolinians. Let’s meet them!
Victory! Rev. Rodney Sadler, House District 106
- MVP partners Carolina Federation, Workers Vote (the Political Action Committee of UNITE HERE), and NCAAT in Action helped Democrat Rev. Rodney Sadler beat incumbent Carla Cunningham in HD-106, which covers part of Mecklenburg County, north of Charlotte.
- Rev. Sadler was trained by The People’s Bench (the candidate recruitment project of Carolina Federation and other NC groups) and is running to put working people first. He won several notable endorsements, including from Democratic governor, Josh Stein, Working Families Party, Planned Parenthood, Sunrise Movement North Carolina, and several labor unions.
- Rev. Sadler beat Democrat Carla Cunningham, an incumbent who — get this — was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans in support of a bill mandating increased cooperation between local jails and ICE and then voted again to override Governor Stein’s veto. It’s clear it was time for Cunningham to go, and we have MVP partners to thank for helping secure Rev. Sadler’s victory by a crushing 48 points.
Victory! Patricia Smith, House District 23
- MVP partner Down Home NC knocked 12,000 doors to help Democrat Patricia Smith beat incumbent Shelly Willingham in HD-23, which covers Edgecombe, Martin, and Bertie Counties and the city of Rocky Mount.
- Patricia Smith’s priorities include protecting rural healthcare, expanding access to stable and affordable housing, building small-town economies, and other policy changes that rural North Carolinians need.
- Smith beat Democrat Shelly Willingham, an incumbent who was the sole Democrat who voted to override a veto of a bill that expands the right to carry guns in schools. He also voted with Republicans on five other veto overrides last year, including on a bill that eliminates important climate protection goals.
- Because of Down Home NC’s efforts, Smith beat Willingham by 11 points — a huge blow to the incumbent who won his 2024 primary election by 58 points. It’s evident that voters in HD-23 have had enough and are ready for change!
Photo: New North Carolina Project celebrating Veleria Levy’s win in HD-99.
Victory! Veleria Levy, House District 99
- MVP partners Workers Vote, Equality NC, and NNCP Action First helped Veleria Levy beat incumbent Nasif Majeed in HD-99, which covers part of Mecklenburg County northeast of Charlotte, together knocking more than 24,255 doors and making 24,600 calls to mobilize voters to the polls.
- Veleria Levy’s platform includes increasing access to affordable healthcare — including reproductive care — increasing North Carolina’s minimum wage (which stands at a ghastly $7.25/hour) to a livable wage, and investing in affordable housing.
- Levy won the endorsement of several progressive organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Lead Locally, the Progressive Caucus of the North Carolina Democratic Party, and several labor unions.
- Levy beat Nasif Majeed, who was the only Democrat who voted to override Governor Stein’s veto of anti-LGBTQ legislation that legally defines gender as sex assigned at birth and requires teachers to make lists of all their books in their classrooms for public review. With the support of our partners, Levy beat Majeed — a six-year incumbent — by a whopping 42 points.
Photo: MVP partners canvassing for Democratic incumbent, Rodney Pierce, in House District 27.
Protecting Bold Dems Now to Win in November
Democratic incumbents Rodney Pierce in HD-27 and Amanda Cook in HD-60 won their primary races by landslides, opening the door for them to win big again in November and maintain the block on another GOP supermajority!
Victory! Rodney Pierce, House District 27
- Rodney Pierce was first elected to the North Carolina state House in 2024, beating the 20-year incumbent by just 0.28%. Yesterday, he faced off against the same corporate Democrat well-known to HD-27 residents and won by 28%. Yes, you read that right — that’s literally 100 times the margin he won by just two years ago. If that’s not a mandate from voters, we don’t know what is!
- MVP partners Workers Vote and Carolina Federation went all out in support of Pierce after endorsing him. They held a huge door-knock operation in Pierce’s hometown of Roanoke Rapids and the surrounding area, launching 30 canvassers a day who engaged voters nearly until polls closed on Election Day. When we say huge, we meant it: Carolina Federation knocked 65,000 doors for Rodney Pierce in just six weeks. Mind. Blown.
- Now, it should be smooth sailing for Pierce to win in November, just as he did running unopposed in the 2024 general election. HD-27 is a solidly blue district, covering parts of Halifax, Northampton, and Warren counties, which Kamala Harris won in 2024 by 18, 14, and 19 points, respectively.
Victory! Amanda Cook, House District 60
- In November 2025, Amanda Cook was appointed to fill the HD-60 seat vacated by former Rep. Cecil Brockman following his arrest and subsequent resignation. Yesterday, Cook won a four-way race by 11 points, setting her up to secure the HD-60 seat for a full, two-year term. HD-60 covers Guilford County, which includes the cities of Greensboro and High Point, and went for Kamala Harris by TWENTY-TWO points in 2024.
- Here’s what Carolina Federation had to say in their endorsement of Amanda Cook: “Amanda Cook is an outspoken champion for workers’ rights, public schools, and racial justice.” As another People’s Bench candidate, Cook is committed to co-governance — working with her constituents and organizations in her district to collaboratively decide the policy priorities she will fight for.
Next Up: November!
This year, we said we are swinging for the fences, and on the first primary election day of the year, our partners are making good on that promise.
These victories will fuel much-needed momentum to win the midterms in November. With these wins at their backs, MVP’s North Carolina partners are ready to scale up, throw down, and prove that North Carolina can still turn blue.
Our partners will not only be working hard to ensure these primary winners secure victory again in November, but also to help elect former Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, to North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate vacated by Republican Thom Tillis and to re-elect Democrat Don Davis in NC-01 to help flip the U.S. House. That sounds like a lot of blue in North Carolina’s future!
Could Texas be Next?
Yesterday also proved that we have a real shot — maybe the best shot in a generation! — at flipping a U.S. Senate seat in Texas. Democratic voters showed up and showed up, breaking turnout records and surpassing that of Republicans: 2.2+ million Democrats showed up at the polls compared to 2.1+ million Republicans. That’s huge and almost unheard of in this traditionally red state.
In the Democratic primary race between U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico — two excellent candidates — Talarico came out on top. Now, Talarico — and all of us — wait to see who his opponent will be in November.
The race for the Republican nominee is going to a runoff, where incumbent Senator John Cornyn will face off against Texas MAGA Attorney General, Ken Paxton — and y’all, it’s going to (continue to) be a blood bath. Both candidates will spend a gajillion more dollars in what has already been a wildly expensive primary season in Texas. The two Republicans will bleed more money dragging each other through the mud and fighting for Trump’s endorsement, which, to say the least, bodes well for Talarico’s November prospects.
Flipping Texas blue will be an uphill battle, but if 2026 has proven anything so far, it’s that we are ready. Our partners in Texas will be pounding the pavement, making calls, and getting out the vote to flip this U.S. Senate seat and turn Texas blue for the first time in more than 30 years.
Let’s go!!!
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