Democratic Representatives Shelly Willingham, Carla Cunninghamand Nasif Majeed, who joined the Republicans in 2025 to override Governor Josh Stein's vetoesThey lost their primary elections on Tuesday, March 3, and none came close to retaining their seat.
In addition, a fourth Democrat who had lost his seat in 2024 after backing Republicans in key votes also failed in his attempt to return to office.
Results in key districts
In the northeast of the state, Representative Rodney Pierce won 64% of the vote and defeated former legislator Michael Wray's comeback attempt in a district that includes Halifax, Northampton, and Warren counties.
Patricia Smith, in Rocky Mount, won 56% of the vote and defeated Representative Shelly Willingham, who represented the counties of Edgecombe, Martin and Bertie.
Meanwhile, Pastor Rodney Sadler in Charlotte received 70% of the votes and defeated Representative Carla Cunningham.
In northwest Charlotte, Valeria Levy won with 69% of the vote against Representative Nasif Majeed.
Related: Representatives Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed lose in the Democratic primaries
The background to the defeat
Wray, Willingham, Cunningham, and Majeed had voted with the Republicans to override vetoes by both current Governor Josh Stein and former Governor Roy Cooper in projects related to immigration, energy, business regulations and other economic issues.
Progressive organizations such as Carolina Forward They supported campaigns to challenge these legislators in the primaries, arguing that their collaboration with the Republican majority weakened the Democratic governor's agenda.
Although attempts to replace some incumbents in 2024 were not entirely successful, the 2026 results sent a clearer message from the Democratic base in several districts across the state.
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After the storm
A year ago, Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina. The Latino community responded with something stronger than the storm: solidarity.
🎧 In this episode, learn how Latino organizations transformed crisis into resilience.
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