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NC News Nov. 6, 2026

Stein Touts Gains and Sets Priorities

Gov. Josh Stein celebrated his party’s gains Wednesday after Democrats flipped the North Carolina House for the first time since 2010.

Republicans previously held a 71-49 House majority, but a national blue wave erased it and broke the GOP’s 30-seat Senate supermajority. Republicans appear to hold the Senate 26-24, but Sen. Danny Britt, a Republican representing District 24, leads by 268 votes in a race that could go to a recount. A 25-25 tie would let Democrat Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt break ties.

Stein said voters wanted balance, urged the outgoing legislature to skip a lame-duck session, and backed an independent redistricting commission. His January priorities include the budget, Hurricane Helene recovery, better schools, and lower costs for gas, power, and housing.

He called three GOP-written constitutional amendments a “con job”: voter photo ID, a 3.5% income-tax cap, and a local property-tax limit. However, all three passed by wide margins.

Article Icon 1Board Asks Lawmakers to Freeze Vouchers

North Carolina’s State Board of Education asked lawmakers this week to halt new private-school voucher awards and redirect the money to traditional public schools.

The board, filled largely with appointees made by Senator-elect Roy Cooper, the former governor, also wants $300 million a year for reading and math textbooks. The state now spends $37.15 per student on instructional materials, versus $175 in Texas.

The request lands one day after Democrats won a state House majority, giving voucher opponents their most leverage since the Opportunity Scholarship Program began in 2013. The board made the same ask in 2025 and 2026, but the Republican-led legislature declined.

About 104,400 students hold a voucher worth up to $7,942 this year, and the program is scheduled to reach $825 million a year by 2032-33.

Article Icon 1UNC Football Probe Costs $914,000

The University of North Carolina spent more than $914,000 on the internal investigation into its football program that concluded in September.

UNC publicly launched the probe July 30. It led to the resignations of general manager Michael Lombardi and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the son of head coach Bill Belichick. Investigators examined allegations of inappropriate relationships among staffers, possible drug use, and NCAA violations.

UNC said the inquiry found certain actions showed “a disregard for Carolina’s values,” but called the problems isolated rather than a systemic failure. Of the three law firms UNC hired, Barnes & Thornburg billed the most, more than $821,000.

Chancellor Lee Roberts has backed Bill Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots, who is in his second season at UNC. “Nobody made us do an investigation,” Roberts said in September.