Things just keep getting worse for the North Carolina Democrat Party. When last we left you, NC House Rep. Carla Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg), who represents House District 106 in the state legislature, switched her party registration last Friday from Democrat to unaffiliated, after months of abandonment from Democrat Party "leaders" in the state, including Gov. Josh Stein, which culminated in a bitter primary battle that she lost in early March.
The seven-term Democrat had been targeted for the apparent crime of voting her conscience last July on a veto override of a bill that mandated better cooperation and coordination between state sheriffs and federal immigration enforcement agencies. Republicans were short one vote of a veto-proof supermajority, and Cunningham's vote made the House override official.
READ MORE: Plot Twist: NC Democrat Changes Parties, Strikes Back at Governor in Big Time Power Play
Two other House Democrats who occasionally strayed from the party line were also targeted and ousted in the March primary. One of them was District 99 Rep. Nasif Majeed (D-Mecklenburg), who participated in another veto override, also in July, of another bill, HB 105, which mandated the following:
Override #5 Is Done.
— Rep. Brenden Jones (@BrendenJonesNC) July 29, 2025
The NC House has just overridden HB 805. The highlights of HB 805 include:
✅ Stating only two sexes (male & female)
✅ No taxpayer funded gender transitions
✅ Parental control in schools and libraries #ncpol pic.twitter.com/SZHTr92nSh
In explaining his vote with Republicans to override the veto, Majeed said afterwards that: "I had some moral issues about that, and I had to lean on my values." Majeed was also one of 18 NC House Democrats who voted in favor of Iryna's Law.
Like Cunningham, Majeed didn't always toe the line with his party, but the majority of the time he did. However, due to his support for HB 805, he was vilified and opposed by the so-called party of tolerance, losing to newcomer Veleria Levy in the March primary.
Speculation had run high in the aftermath of the primary as to whether Cunningham, Majeed, and the other Democrat who lost, District 23 Rep. Shelly Willingham, would end up voting more with Republicans in their last year in office, would change parties, and/or both. On Monday, Majeed joined Cunningham in becoming a registered unaffiliated voter and legislator, announcing his exit from the Democrat Party.
Though he was more diplomatic in his announcement than Cunningham, he did spill some tea along the way:
“Our community deserves leadership that is honest, accountable, and respectful of the democratic process,” Majeed wrote. “I have witnessed and experienced actions within the political landscape that I believe could be perceived as misleading or inconsistent with the spirit of fair elections. I cannot, in good conscience, remain aligned where those concerns are not adequately addressed.”
While he didn't elaborate, he did cite "growing concerns about political practices that, in his view, do not align with the level of transparency and ethical conduct that voters deserve." Further, he also suggested that "certain campaign-related strategies and tactics observed in recent election cycles raised serious questions."
NEW: Another NC lawmaker is leaving the Democratic party.
— Andy Weber (@andy_weber_tv) April 27, 2026
Nasif Majeed, who lost his primary in March: “I have witnessed and experienced actions within the political landscape that I believe could be perceived as misleading or inconsistent with the spirit of fair elections…” pic.twitter.com/GN91qbTK7J
Holy smokes—another Mecklenburg Democrat is jumping ship. Nasif Majeed has switched to unaffiliated, just days after Rep. Carla Cunningham made the same move on Friday. #ncpol #ncga pic.twitter.com/xgBulJrJMv
— Nick Craig (@nicholasmcraig) April 27, 2026
North Carolina state representative Nasif Majeed has left the Democratic Party and is now registered as unaffiliated.
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) April 27, 2026
Majeed is the second member of the North Carolina House of Representatives to leave the Democratic Party after Carla Cunningham. pic.twitter.com/9a5DEeJfST
I'm not one to intervene when the political opposition is in the middle of imploding, and because of that, now is as good a time as any to point out that all three Democrats who were targeted on the House side were people of color:
NC House Speaker Destin Hall has said the GOP would operate with a "functioning" supermajority — despite being 1 seat short.
— Andy Specht (@AndySpecht) July 29, 2025
He was right. Today, Republicans are overriding Gov. Josh Stein's vetoes with help from Democrats:
Carla Cunningham, Shelly Willingham, and Nasif Majeed. pic.twitter.com/ayPdAonoN2
Previously, Democrats were on the outs with another now-former state lawmaker who is also black, then-state Sen. Joel Ford, who once stated that “[Democrats] turned on me like a wild pack of dogs,” for sometimes siding with Republicans on issues like voter ID and charter schools, while adding that “the most dangerous thing a Democrat can be today is an independent thinker."
That goes double if you happen to be a minority, as Ford, all three Democrats who were primaried this election cycle, and one who switched parties in 2023 after years of frustration, know all too well.
Cunningham's and Majeed's departures from the Democrat Party follow that of NC House Rep. Tricia Cotham, who in April 2023 also left the Democrat Party and then registered as a Republican, which then gave Republicans a veto-proof supermajority through the end of 2024. Democrats have unsuccessfully been trying to oust her ever since.
And if the reaction of NC Democrat Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton to Cunningham's departure from the party is any indication, they will keep bleeding the minorities (legislators and voters alike) who were so essential to their "war on women" and "racism" narratives:
Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya, as they say! 🤠
— Anderson Clayton☀️ (@abreezeclayton) April 25, 2026
Keep it up, Anderson. You're doing great.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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