Overview
- With all precincts reporting, Rev. Rodney Sadler took just under 70% to Carla Cunningham’s 22%, while Vermanno Bowman finished near 8%.
- Cunningham was the legislature’s lone Democrat to back the July override of Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of a bill requiring sheriffs to check citizenship and honor 48‑hour ICE detainers.
- Her vote proved decisive by a single vote, and she later told colleagues that “all cultures are not equal” and that immigrants must assimilate.
- Gov. Josh Stein endorsed Sadler, and the North Carolina Democratic Party denied Cunningham access to its voter‑contact software.
- The contest unfolded in a heavily Democratic Charlotte‑area district where stepped‑up federal enforcement, including “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” sharpened focus on immigration policy.