Democrat’s speech on immigrants led NC governor to intervene in primary, he says
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Governor Stein endorsed Rev. Rodney Sadler after Rep. Cunningham's floor speech.
- Cunningham was pivotal on HB318 override; she apologized and cited alleged threats.
- Senate has veto-proof majority; House is one vote short; Stein may endorse more.
North Carolina’s governor says he stepped into a Democratic primary election to endorse a challenger because of a floor speech during a contentious veto override vote on an immigration bill.
Stein endorsed incumbent Mecklenburg County Democratic Rep. Carla Cunningham’s primary challenger, the Rev. Rodney Sadler, on Monday, The Charlotte Observer reported. Stein told reporters on Tuesday after a Council of State meeting that he could not endorse her because of her speech during the veto override debate.
The endorsement this week also came as Cunningham issued an apology for her comments during the House floor debate that drew a swift rebuke from some Democrats. Cunningham was the deciding vote — Republicans needed just one Democrat to vote with them to override Stein’s veto — on House Bill 318, which requires stronger cooperation between sheriffs and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.
During her speech, she said that “all cultures are not equal.”
“Some immigrants come and believe they can function in isolation, refusing to adapt,” Cunningham said. “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. No country is going to allow people to come in and not acknowledge its constitution, legal systems, and laws. They will not tolerate it.”
Stein said he endorsed Cunningham’s primary challenger because, “I want to have the best General Assembly that we possibly can have, one that is committed to moving North Carolina forward, to creating opportunity for more folks, to embracing this value that everybody deserves a shot in this state. And Rev. Sadler, I think, is great, and he embraces that vision as well.”
Republicans control the Senate with a veto-proof supermajority and are one vote short of total control in the House.
“Rep. Cunningham — you heard the same speech I did on the floor where she said that some people are better than other people, and that is not something I can endorse,” Stein said.
After the vote in late July, Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch, of Wake County, called Cunningham’s remarks “ridiculous” and “absolutely uncalled for.”
Batch also called for Cunningham to apologize, and said Cunningham “should be called out for that, and I’m calling her out directly, because I think that that is an affront to our democracy.”
Cunningham’s apology came six months later. In a video message posted to her campaign website on Sunday, she said that she had received “several threats from elected officials and community leaders” in the days leading up to the override vote, enough that House Speaker Destin Hall provided her with protection, she said.
She went on to say she “said things that offended members of the community and I take full accountability for my words and my actions and I sincerely apologize.”
Cunningham’s campaign manager Marjorie Fields Harris, in an emailed statement, said that Stein “is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts on what Rep. Cunningham said on the House floor. If he is sincere in wanting a General Assembly that is, ‘committed to moving NC forward, to creating opportunity for more folks, to embracing this value that everybody deserves a shot in this state,’ then he should examine Rep. Cunningham’s record because she has advanced legislation that does ALL of those things.”
“Litigating party politics is getting old, we look forward to returning the focus to where it belongs — the people and policies that create opportunity for the communities of District 106,” Harris said.
Stein may make more Democratic primary endorsements
Stein did not rule out making more endorsements in legislative races.
He’s not the first governor to endorse a challenger in his own party’s primary for a seat in the General Assembly. His predecessor, Roy Cooper, endorsed the opponent of former Sen. Kirk deViere — Val Applewhite, who went on to win the election and still holds the seat. DeViere had crossed Cooper by voting to override his vetoes, including on a bill to reopen schools during the pandemic.
Endorsements often come with fundraising help.
Also on Monday, Cunningham joined a petition by current and former Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office staff to oust Sheriff Garry McFadden, who she says is one of the people who threatened her ahead of her vote to override Stein’s veto on the ICE cooperation bill, The Observer reported.
Stein told reporters on Tuesday that “the (State Bureau of Investigation) is looking into it, as well they should, and I will have nothing to do with that investigation, and we’ll just see where it lands.”
Meanwhile, McFadden and other Charlotte and Mecklenburg officials have been called before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform later this month to “testify on his department’s failures,” Republican Rep. Brenden Jones posted on social media. Jones, the House Republican majority leader, is a co-chair of the committee. Cunningham serves on the committee as well.
This story was originally published January 6, 2026 at 1:40 PM.
