North Carolinians made a strong statement at the polls for pro-environment policies at the state level, electing pro-environment leaders to top state executive positions. In addition—despite historic levels of gerrymandered legislative districts—pro-environment candidates managed to break the pro-polluter supermajority in the NC House.

Council of State Wins

Environmental endorsees Josh Stein won the race for Governor, Rachel Hunt for Lieutenant Governor, and Jeff Jackson for Attorney General. Most of the meaningful power in the executive branch to manage executive branch agencies, appoint members of regulatory commissions, and shape state legal policies is held by these three posts. 

In addition to sweeping these top three state executive posts, voters also elected Mo Green as Superintendent of Public Instruction and re-elected Elaine Marshall as Secretary of State. This gives allies of Governor-elect Stein five votes on the NC Council of State. That means that his opponents cannot marshal a majority of votes on that council with which to block his executive orders. Several of Governor Roy Cooper’s most important steps on clean energy, climate action, and environmental justice were accomplished through executive orders.

Breaking the House Supermajority

Of equally great policy consequence, pro-environment candidates for the NC General Assembly managed to increase their number in the NC House by one crucial vote. That provides just enough votes to keep pro-polluter legislative leadership from overriding governor’s vetoes of bad budgets and laws further weakening environmental protections. Most of the damage to environmental laws and programs done by the legislature during Governor Cooper’s two terms took place in the past two years, after pro-polluter legislators gained enough seats to override his vetoes of bad bills.

Largest Election Investment

The NC League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV) is celebrating its role in electing Stein and other environmental champions in this election. NCLCV’s independent expenditure political action committee (PAC), the Conservation Votes PAC (CVP) spent nearly $3.3 million in support of Stein and other candidates.

“North Carolinians overwhelmingly elected Josh Stein as Governor,” said Dan Crawford, NCLCV’s director of governmental relations. “Josh Stein has been the greenest Attorney General in our state’s history. We look forward to working with him to ensure all North Carolinians have access to clean air, clean water, and are included in the just transition to clean energy.

“North Carolinians also elected enough environmental champions to break the pro-polluters’ grip on the state House. Having environmental champions to keep polluters and their politicians in check will bring order back to Raleigh to work for the benefit of our state and its people, not just the super-wealthy, polluting companies.”

NCLCV’s coordinated political committee, Conservation PAC (CPAC), spent over $65,000 in support of environmental champions running for various state offices, including successful NC House candidates Dante Pittman (House District 24), Bryan Cohn (House District 32), Beth Gardner Helfrich (House District 98), and Lindsey Prather (House District 115).

Hold Legislators Accountable

“North Carolinians have once again shown they want everyone to have access to clean air, clean water, and a just transition to a clean energy economy,” said Carrie Clark, NCLCV’s executive director. “Voters have sent a clear message. They want our state leaders to protect our communities, not sit around and reward corporate polluters. They want our leaders to address the climate crisis, not deny it’s happening. We look forward to working with all these environmental leaders, and we will continue our work to hold elected officials accountable for their decisions on our shared environment.” 

See the full list of NCLCV’s environmental victories in this election.

While we’ve had major wins, we will need your help to hold NC leaders accountable for their environmental actions. Become a sustaining member today and keep an eye out for emails with actions you can take to protect our environment!