'Extending an olive branch': Stein, GOP work together toward bipartisan goals

One evening last month, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein pushed through a gauntlet of lawmakers who had gathered for his first State of the State address, shaking hands with colleagues on both sides of the aisle. As the Democrat neared the lectern, he received something unexpected: a hug from a powerful Republican.

“I welcomed him into the building, gave him a little bro hug,” said state Rep. John Bell, a longtime legislator in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

The gesture, Bell said, wasn’t meant to symbolize anything beyond what it was: a warm greeting to a person he came to respect years ago, when they served together in the General Assembly.

But for some who watch North Carolina politics closely, it represented what appears to be Republicans’ wider embrace of Stein — which they say comes from efforts by the governor to build relationships with lawmakers on the other side of the aisle. Some lawmakers say Stein has been more intentional about bridge-building than his predecessor, two-term Democrat Roy Cooper, who frequently feuded with the Republicans who control the chambers of the General Assembly.

“I don't think it's any question that Governor Stein has been more active in engaging [Republican lawmakers] individually and in small groups,” said Sen. Phil Berger, the Rockingham Republican who leads the GOP-controlled North Carolina Senate.

Indeed, in recent months Stein has appointed several Republican legislators to key committees focused on disaster relief, student safety and child care. He has voiced support for Republican-authored bills that have bipartisan interest, such as one that would crack down on cell phones in schools — and he has championed government efficiency efforts also promoted by the GOP. He has also occasionally heaped public praise on Republican leaders.

When UNC Health and Duke Health announced plans to partner in building what would be the state’s first dedicated children’s hospital, Stein credited several Republican lawmakers, but he singled out Berger for leading the legislature’s push to fund the project. “If you can bring Duke and Carolina together,” Stein said at a news conference, “you can bring Democrats and Republicans together.”

It’s early going yet. Stein’s 100th day in office was Thursday. And his tenure in office won’t be without conflict, but his early approach looks different to political observers.

“What we're seeing in these early days of the Stein administration is much more willingness to try and reach across the political aisle … on some key areas that I think are bipartisan in nature,” said Michael Bitzer, Catawba College political science professor.

How it started

Much of the bipartisan goodwill has been built on efforts to help western North Carolinians who have been struggling to rebuild after Hurricane Helene. The September storm was the most devastating in state history. It killed at least 107 people, caused upwards of $60 billion in damage and destroyed thousands of homes, according to state officials.

Relief efforts surrounding previous storms had become politically divisive under Stein’s predecessor, who came under fire for his response to hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018, which Republicans slammed for being over budget and behind-schedule.

An early sign of Stein’s willingness to work together came as his State of the State speech approached in March. It was his restraint that stood out to some Republicans.

Stein had hoped to use the address to ceremoniously sign a $500 million relief package for Helene victims. But the day before the high-profile address, House Republicans balked at changes to the bill made by Republicans in the Senate.

The expected relief money — which amounted to only half of what Stein had hoped for — was left in a holding pattern as GOP lawmakers ironed out the finer details of the legislation.

Democrats regularly accuse Republican legislative leaders of ignoring North Carolinians’ needs, and the delay offered Stein an opportunity to hammer Republicans for just that in the televised speech. But he didn’t. And Bell knew Stein wouldn’t.

Stein had been genuine in his desire to sign the legislation, Bell said, adding that the governor regularly touched base with legislative leaders about the status of the relief package.

“He knew why the bill evolved and some of the concerns we had and we needed to get addressed,” Bell said. “When you had those lines of communication open, I just personally felt that he wasn't going to take the opportunity to take a [political] shot.”

A week after Stein’s speech, legislators passed the Helene relief package. And that same night, Stein invited a group of Republicans to stand alongside him at the Governor’s Mansion as he signed it into law. The group included House Speaker Destin Hall, who only days earlier had criticized disaster response efforts of Cooper and former President Joe Biden.

Inside the Governor’s Mansion, Hall said he hoped the bill signing would be the first of many that he and Stein could attend together.

“It's going to be a long recovery with incredible devastation in Western North Carolina,” Hall said. “But the folks from that part of the world, where I'm from, need to know that this body — and I believe this governor's office also — is committed to doing everything we can to get those folks back in their home.”

After a recent House session, Hall told reporters that he appreciated Stein’s efforts to contact every member of his caucus.

“Within a few days of Stein winning the election — we weren't even in session yet — I had spoken to him more than I'd ever spoken to Governor Cooper in eight years,” Hall said. “Stein has made an effort to reach out to virtually every member of the House and the Senate.”

Cooper didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The relationship between Stein and legislative Republicans hasn’t been entirely cordial — and will certainly be tested as lawmakers ask him to sign measures Democrats traditionally oppose, such as the GOP-authored state budget.

Stein is currently suing the Republican legislators, including Berger, for passing a law before he took office that stripped the governor’s office of some of its power. Meanwhile, Stein’s proposed budget calls for ending the state’s private school voucher program — something Hall described as a “non-starter.” And one Republican House member, state Rep. Keith Kidwell, posted a photo of Stein’s proposed state budget in a trash can.

Still, political analysts have noticed that the partisan battles have cooled to start the year.

Stein “is extending the olive branch,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. “And, at least thus far, it appears that the Republicans are taking it.”

Why it’s different

Stein and Republican legislative leaders seem to be in a honeymoon phase that his predecessor never got to enjoy, political analysts told WRAL News. That may be because the governors entered office under different circumstances.

Roy Cooper narrowly beat an incumbent Republican, former Gov. Pat McCrory, by railing against GOP policies — specifically a bill that required transgender people to only use government-owned bathrooms corresponding with their birth gender. The law, which many viewed as discriminatory, led to state boycotts by businesses, entertainers and professional sports. Cooper ran on repealing it. And in his first State of the State address, Cooper chided Republican legislators, saying: “Citizens from Cherokee to Chocowinity are sick of [the law] and they are wondering when we’re going to cut away this heavy anchor weighing us down.”

Stein, by contrast, easily defeated his Republican opponent, former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, by running a campaign that largely focused on Robinson, who struggled in the polls. That strategy was less likely to repel Republicans than, say, if Stein had launched an ad campaign attacking GOP policies. By Election Day, many powerful Republicans had distanced themselves from Robinson, who was embroiled in a series of scandals.

GOP donors largely abandoned Robinson after CNN alleged in a news report that he had referred to himself as a Nazi on a pornographic website. Robinson denied the allegations. Robinson’s poll numbers plummeted nonetheless, and Stein cruised to victory without bruising his relationship with Republican legislators.

“Stein just didn't have to punch as hard,” said Cooper, the professor, who isn’t related to the former governor. “So [Stein] was able to enter the office not having to patch up wounds that had happened during the election.”

Helene also offered lawmakers an opportunity to work together. The legislature has allocated more than $1.5 billion for Helene relief and Congress passed a package that’s expected to send about $15 billion to North Carolina.

But that funding isn’t enough to cover the damage. Before Stein even took office, storm victims were complaining about a lack of housing and the slow pace of Helene cleanup. Stein endeared himself to Republicans by announcing that he’d handle hurricane recovery differently than his predecessor.

Open to dialogue

One of Stein’s first executive actions created a new state agency called the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, or GROW NC, to handle the work.

The office will manage Helene recovery efforts, rather than the Rebuild NC program that had drawn criticism under Cooper. At the start of the year, more than 1,100 eastern North Carolina families were still living in temporary housing and waiting for the government to finish rebuilding their homes that were damaged during hurricanes Matthew and Florence.

State Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, is a member of Stein’s task force for child care and early education. In a recent interview, he praised Stein for collaborating with Republicans more than the previous governor.

“He's been more involved in western North Carolina compared to Cooper.” Hise said. “I've had multiple conversations with Governor Stein, as well as meetings at the Governor’s Mansion about policy or signing policy, and those kinds of things."

State Rep. Jake Johnson, a Polk County who serves as the House deputy majority whip, said Stein has made legislators feel like they can call him or his team with ideas for legislation — even if the Democrat might oppose it. As an example, Johnson pointed to a bill he filed that would allow educational organizations to obtain property from the federal government without going through the state Department of Administration, which falls under the executive branch.

Johnson called members of the Stein administration to explain his rationale behind the bill and let them know that it’s not meant as a slight against the governor or the DOA. Rather, he said, he filed it because a children’s museum in his district has had trouble going through the DOA to obtain decommissioned materials from NASA and similar agencies. The law requires the museum to work with the DOA to request the items, but Johnson thinks that process is part of the reason museums in other states are able to claim the items first.

The Stein administration welcomed the dialogue, Johnson said.

“That’s not to say he’s going to veto it or let it become law or whatever,” Johnson said. “But they were at least open to having that conversation.”

Berger said Stein’s accessibility helps both sides avoid unnecessary public conflicts.

“Without avenues of communication being open, it's very easy for misunderstandings or misapprehensions to cloud people's perceptions of things,” Berger said.

Just getting started

Another reason the political rhetoric hasn’t ramped up between Stein and Republican legislators is because the General Assembly hasn’t sent many divisive bills to Stein’s desk — a fact that will almost certainly change as the legislative session goes on.

Republican legislators have proposed a number of bills this year that Democrats oppose, but that haven’t received votes in both the House and the Senate. Among them:

• A bill to direct members of Stein's cabinet — including the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and the Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction — to enter cooperation agreements with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
• A bill that would limit the rights of transgender people in the state, preventing people from changing their gender on their birth certificates or driver’s licenses and regulating which bathrooms people are allowed to use in some state buildings.
• A bill that would allow almost anyone who is 18 or older, and not otherwise banned from having a firearm, to carry concealed without needing a permit.
• Bills to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in state agencies, higher education, and public schools.

Because Republicans hold large majorities in the state House and state Senate, they’re generally able to send whatever they want to Stein’s desk. Stein can veto legislation, but Republicans can override Stein and enact their bills into law if one Democratic House member votes with them — or if two Democrats fail to show up for a vote.

With those dynamics at play, Stein would be wise to play nice, said Cooper, the WCU professor.

“The incentive is definitely for Stein to play nice,” he said. “He can try to stonewall these folks, and it's not going to get him anywhere in terms of getting policy through.”

When asked by reporters earlier this month, Stein declined to single out the bills he’s most concerned about, but said: “There's an opportunity for us to avoid these ideological bills, these social war bills that really just serve to distract us.”

“If I started listing the number of bills that I was concerned about, we might be here for a while,” Stein said. “There are a lot of bills that have been introduced, not all of which have much support within the Republican caucus itself.”

Hall, the House speaker, said he recognizes that Stein is likely reaching out to members of the GOP to potentially limit Republican support for controversial bills. That’s OK, Hall said. He remains confident the House will be able to override Stein’s vetoes, despite Republicans being one seat short of a supermajority in the chamber.

In the meantime, Hall says he is enjoying a level of communication that he says Stein’s predecessor didn’t offer as frequently.

“There will be, obviously, issues where we're going to disagree — and that's OK,” Hall said. “We're going to hold [Stein] accountable, just like we would any governor. But certainly, it’s easier to work with him thus far.”

If and when the honeymoon ends, Stein and Republican leaders both will be able to say that they tried to work with the other side. Bitzer, the political scientist, said that’s valuable political currency in a state where swing voters can decide statewide elections.