Reps. Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed both lost to more progressive challengers.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ Two incumbent Democratic state representatives in Mecklenburg County were defeated in their primaries after siding with Republicans on key votes.
Reps. Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed both lost to more progressive challengers.
This term, both incumbents voted for the โPower Bill Reduction Act,โย which eliminates a key climate target for Duke Energy. Veleria Levy, who will replace Majeed as the Democratic candidate for House District 99, said that the vote was the tipping point for some voters.
While Democrats and Republicans disagree on the financial impacts, researchย from Duke University estimates the law could cost ratepayers $23 billion more due to fluctuating fuel prices.
“Just feeling out of touch at a time when we’ve got the Trump tariffs and everything else that’s going on and causing a lot of stress on people being able to just make every day work, to know that your representative overrode the democratic governor’s veto to give us additional fees that we have to pay,” Levy said. “People are just tired of not being heard.”
Majeed lost his seat after serving Mecklenburg County for four terms. Last year, the Democrat sided with Republicans to override a veto by Gov. Josh Stein on legislation stating there were only two sexes and genders in the state.
โYou never let down your district. You don’t let down the people that sent you there, because if you do, then they’ll send you home, and they should,โ Levy said.
Voters took a similar stance in House District 106, where Cunningham lost to Rodney Sadler.
โA change in the politics of hate that have governed our state for far too long,โ Sadler said. “We’ve seen that immigrants have been blamed for the problems generally that we have in society.”
Sadler pointed to Cunninghamโs vote to override Gov. Stein’s veto of HB318, which strengthened immigration enforcement by requiring sheriffs to cooperate with ICE.
“All cultures are not equal. Some immigrants come and believe they can function in isolation, refusing to adapt. They have come to our country for many reasons, but I suggest they must assimilate, adapt to the culture of the country they wish to live in,” Cunningham said in July. “If you ask me to line up behind another group of people to raise awareness about their plight, I unapologetically say no.”
Sadler said that moment showed the party needs to shift in a new direction.
โThose things really did undermine her integrity. It undermined her ability to represent the district, and more importantly, for me as an African American, it undermined where we’ve always been as African Americans,โ Sadler said. “We don’t ever want to leave anyone behind.”
WCNC Charlotte reached out to Cunningham but did not hear back.
Rep. Majeed said the following in a statement:
“Frankly speaking, there is no room in the ‘Big Tent’ of the Democratic Party if you donโt agree with their hierarchy of ideas. ย If you disagree with them, their professional psychological marketing teams and their big money organizations have the capability to effectively reverse the thinking of any constituency. As far as future direction, I will be consulting with my constituents to get feedback back on how to proceed.”ย
Contact Julie Kay at juliekay@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
For the latest breaking news, weather and traffic alerts that impact you from WCNC Charlotte, download the WCNC Charlotte mobile app and enable push notifications.
