Labor 2026 Update on NC Primary Election Results

Our endorsed candidates won 78% of their contested primary races on March 3rd, putting our state federation in a strong position heading into the general election. 

Roy Cooper’s win in the Democratic primary for the open US Senate being vacated by Thom Tillis was one of the biggest outcomes of the night. More people voted for Cooper than voted for all Republican US Senate candidates combined. Cooper will face former NCGOP chair and FEMA “Recovery Czar” Michael Whatley in November. Our state is a “must-win” for Democrats if we are to restore a pro-worker majority in the US Senate. 

Tuesday was a good night for union members running for public office, including Rodney Pierce (AFT) for NC House 27, Lorenza Wilkins (SMART) for NC House 25, Sophia Chitlik (SAG-AFTRA) for NC Senate 22, and Rob Zapple (SAG-AFTRA) for New Hanover County Commission, all of whom will advance to the general election.

It was not a good night for Democrats who have voted with the anti-worker majority in the General Assembly. Charlotte pastor Rodney Sadler, our endorsed candidate for NC House 106, soundly defeated Rep. Carla Cunningham. Rep. Rodney Pierce easily defeated a comeback attempt by Michael Wray. And Reps. Nasif Majeed and Shelly Willingham, two other incumbents who had voted against Gov. Josh Stein, also lost.

These victories were powered by working people! We used nearly 5,000 direct mailers and social media to promote our slate of candidates, and we knocked on doors and made calls to turn out the union vote. UNITE HERE Local 23 alone knocked 40,000 doors in the Pierce and Sadler races, which were two of our most critical legislative contests. 

We also invested in field work in CD-4, running a mail and canvassing program in support of Nida Allam. While Allam did not win her primary against Rep. Valerie Foushee, our participation in this otherwise safe district for Democrats built infrastructure we will need moving forward.

Other notable outcomes include the win by Richard Ojeda, a very strong advocate for unions challenging Rep. Richard Hudson in CD-9, as well as primary wins by NC House candidates Winn Decker and Veleria Levy.

With the primaries behind us, we need to move quickly on several fronts:

• Finalizing our slate for the general election.
• Rallying national union support for top two priorities: electing Roy Cooper to the US Senate and re-electing Anita Earls to the NC Supreme Court.
• Raising Victory Fund money to finance our member-to-member political program and securing union staff and volunteers to work it. 

We thank our affiliates and all union members for your support. Working together, we will win in November!