Mecklenburg voters took out their frustrations on a pair of legislators in Tuesday’s primaries — dissatisfaction political experts say likely extended beyond the incumbents themselves.

State Reps. Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed, who represent north Charlotte’s District 106 and District 99, lost their Democratic primaries by wide margins after months of scrutiny over siding with Republicans on overrides of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes.

Their votes were likely an inflection point for many primary participants, a field that included registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters. But North Carolina political experts say outcomes of the legislative races, and other primaries across the state, are emblematic of broader anger among Democratic voters at President Donald Trump’s political movement and their party’s response to it.

“It suggests there’s a base level of frustration or unhappiness that voters of both parties have,” UNC Charlotte political scientist Eric Heberlig said of Tuesday’s results in Charlotte and beyond.

As state and local races become increasingly nationalized, the trend could grow in North Carolina.

Cunningham and Majeeds’ ‘unacceptable’ votes

Charlotte’s losing legislators broke ranks on issues that’ve become increasingly significant to the Democratic base in the age of Trump, immigration for Cunningham and gender and sexuality for Majeed.

Cunningham joined the GOP in overriding Stein’s veto of a bill requiring county sheriffs to cooperate more with federal immigration officials. Majeed voted with Republicans to override Stein’s veto of a controversial bill about sexuality, religion in schools and school libraries.

Cunningham went even further, declaring in a floor speech explaining her vote that “all cultures are not equal.” She later walked back those remarks in a campaign video but did not say she would change her vote.

“It’s not like they broke on, you know, an issue that people don’t care about. These are big, nationally important issues with the Democratic Party,” Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper said of Cunningham’s and Majeed’s votes.

That anger manifested in support for their opponents.

Rodney Sadler picked up endorsements from Stein and the influential Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg in his campaign against Cunningham. The winner in Majeed’s district, Veleria Levy, outraised the incumbent. And, The Assembly reported, the North Carolina Democratic Party cut off Cunningham’s and Majeed’s access to voter outreach software.

Stein and N.C. Democrats Chair Anderson Clayton both celebrated Sadler’s and Levy’s wins.

“Last night, voters spoke loud and clear: They want to turn Governor Stein’s veto pen into a permanent marker …,” Clayton said in a statement. “Last night showed that folks are fed up and ready to fight back. Come January 2027, our General Assembly is going to look very different.”

Voters’ anger fuels anti-establishment shift

Heberlig said the margin by which both incumbents lost speaks to the depth of voters’ feelings. Sadler defeated Cunningham with 69.9% of the vote, while Majeed pulled in just 26.2% of the vote in his district to Levy’s 68.6%.

“The fact that they both lost overwhelmingly demonstrates a vast proportion of the Democratic base found these votes to be unacceptable,” Heberlig said.

Anger is on the rise among Democrats beyond those in losing incumbents’ districts, data show. A February Associated Press poll found 70% of Democrats have a positive view of their party, down from 85% just before the 2024 general election. And roughly two-thirds of Democrats said their own party made them “frustrated” in a September Pew Research poll, with 4 in 10 feeling their party was not fighting hard enough against Trump.

Sadler referenced that energy in a statement about his win, declaring his victory “demonstrates the only way we can defeat MAGA authoritarianism.”

“It is not by folding and collaborating, or by offering a return to a status quo that never worked for most people,” he said.

Levy called her win a victory for a “grassroots campaign.”

“Our community is diverse and growing, and my commitment is to represent all people in District 99,” she said in a statement. “Everyone deserves to feel seen, heard, and respected by their elected officials.”

In safe Democratic districts, Cooper said, voters saw the primaries as their chance to make their feelings heard.

“Voters have gotten increasingly aware that general elections are mostly foregone conclusions … People are realizing that’s how you can exercise your power,” he said.

Mac McCorkle, a veteran campaign strategist and professor at Duke University, said voters in such heavily Democratic districts are more likely to feel safe ousting an incumbent in a primary. No Republicans are running in districts 106 or 99.

“If you’re in a safe Democratic seat and you bolt from the party on key votes, you should expect to be primary challenged,” he said.

When voters seek an anti-establishment choice, Heberlig noted, emotions can play an even bigger role in their choices at the ballot box.

“When people are frustrated, they’re not necessarily looking for, ‘here’s a 10-point plan that’s going to provide a particular solution.’ They’re looking for someone who’s going to shake the cage and vent their rage and make things happen,” he said.

‘New normal’ of the Trump era?

Democrats may have been more drawn to the idea of punishing incumbents by the fact that Republicans have been demanding more ideological adherence in primaries, McCorkle said.

“Think about what the Republicans would do if there was a Republican who voted with Stein on some of these issues,” he said.

Similar circumstances played out across party and district lines in North Carolina and the other states that kicked off the mid-term elections Tuesday.

At least eight incumbent legislators lost their primaries in North Carolina, including another Democrat who voted to override a Stein veto. And Raleigh-area U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee narrowly fended off a Democratic primary challenge from Nida Allam, who ran to Foushee’s left.

While 99% of U.S. House candidates running for reelection made it through primary season unscathed in 2024 — just four losses in 386 races, according to the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics — multiple incumbents lost or were sent to runoffs in Texas and Arkansas on Tuesday.

“It’s basically the same dynamic,” Heberlig said of the situations playing out across the country. “... It does seem to be our new normal in an age where outrage and performance politics is what gets people attention and support.”

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