Why these NC Senate Democrats voted for the GOP state budget, and what it means
Four Senate Democrats voted for the Republican-written Senate budget last week, setting up seats at the negotiating table for them as the budget progresses.
Most notable among the four: Sen. Dan Blue of Raleigh, who was the longtime Senate minority leader until Democrats instead chose Sen. Sydney Batch this session.
On this new episode of Under the Dome, The News & Observer’s politics podcast, we talk more about the vote and what it means for the rest of session. Happy Tuesday and welcome to the edition of our Under the Dome newsletter that serves as a preview of our podcast. I’m Capitol Bureau Chief Dawn Vaughan.
I’m joined by my legislative reporting colleague Avi Bajpai and higher education reporter Korie Dean as we break down the budget, including how the Senate’s budget impacts the UNC System.
The episode starts with an audio clip of Democratic Sen. Paul Lowe explaining why he voted for the budget. Blue and Lowe were joined in their budget votes by Sen. Joyce Waddell and Sen. Gladys Robinson. It’s about getting that seat at the table when final decisions are made, Lowe explained.
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Plus, we talk about why one Republican, Sen. Bobby Hanig of Currituck County, voted against the bill written by his colleagues, and how a provision would charge ferry fares in his district.
Headliner of the Week
Stay tuned to the end for our picks for Headliner of the Week. My Headliner is the news Monday that Pope Francis died. Dean talks about the Division of Motor Vehicles, and Bajpai compares driving to flying.
Listen to the Under the Dome podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, iHeart, Pandora, Amazon Music and Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Thanks for reading. If you are a lawmaker or work in state government, politics or policy and are interested in being a podcast guest or have topic recommendations, email me at dvaughan@newsobserver.com.
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