Carla Cunningham May Be in (More) Trouble

 

House District 106 is majority Black. Carla Cunningham has represented the district in the NC House since the election of 2012. She's often been unopposed for reelection, and when she is challenged in a primary, she rarely takes less than 70% of the vote.

Carla Cunningham, Democratic Incumbent

Cunningham already had a growing reputation for voting with the Republican super-majority, but she crossed a couple of lines too many last August when she joined the Republicans in voting to override Governor Stein's veto of H 318, a new immigration enforcement law that makes ICE effectively the boss over local sheriffs. It was not just her vote to override, but a downright astounding floor speech attacking the very idea of immigration. Embarrassingly, she first trumpeted her own racial bona fides:

“I am an ADOS (African Descendant of Slaves), a black American, and an American,” she said. “I support House Bill 318 because it’s time for my unapologetic truth to be shared. It’s not just the numbers of immigrants that matter, but where they come from and the culture they bring. Some come and refuse to adapt, but they must assimilate and respect the laws of the country they wish to live in .... We’ve been naive, exploited, and abused [by illegal immigrants] .... All cultures are not equal.”

Meaning (we take it), "They're not equal to me." An odd thing to hear a Black rep say in the age of Trump. In fact, she seemed to be mimicking Trump's "immigrants are garbage" line of thought.

Cunningham has been half-heartedly apologizing for that floor speech, while simultaneously complaining that it was "those people" who had made her feel threatened and intimidated to the point she blurted out a basically racist rant. Cunningham's feeling the heat.

One of her primary opponents, Vermanno Bowman (see below), sez of Cunningham: "She has a record of voting with Republicans over 80% of the time during the 2023–2024 legislative session, joining Republicans in overriding multiple vetoes from Governor Roy Cooper, and missing 332 votes (43%) in the 2021–2022 session." Being perpetually safe in your gerrymandered seat -- applies to Democrats as much as Republicans -- can make you high-handed and arrogant.

Most recently, Cunningham has signed onto a petition to have Meck Co Sheriff Garry McFadden removed from office, saying he threatened her like a mob boss for her vote on House Bill 318. The threat she alleges happened almost six months ago. If indeed the sheriff threatened her, she didn't mention it to anyone until her reelection primary began to look like her first bad election, because Gov. Stein publicly endorsed...

Rodney Sadler, Dem Primary Challenger

Just this past Monday, Gov. Stein issued this endorsement of church pastor and community activist Sadler: “I am proud to stand with Rev. Dr. Rodney Sadler in his campaign to put people first. The people of North Charlotte deserve a representative who will fight for Democratic values, defend our public schools, and keep costs down. Rev. Dr. Sadler will help us build a North Carolina where we can all afford to thrive.” Sadler’s campaign told the Charlotte Observer that he has raised more than $100,000 and has secured endorsements from labor groups and more than 20 local leaders.

Sadler brings impressive academic credentials. He is a graduate of Howard University (1989, B.S. Psychology/Philosophy) and Howard University School of Divinity (1992, M.Div.). He holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Biblical Archaeology from Duke University and has also studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Though he is an ordained Baptist minister, he's also done service in Presbyterian churches and is currently associate professor of Bible and director of the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte.

Vermanno Bowman

Vermanno Bowman is perhaps headed for that category called "Perennial Candidate," which could make me sad for this ever earnest Gen Z do-gooder who's got an up-by-the-seat-of-his-pants personal story of poverty and struggle. Bowman has run twice before for the NC House, most recently against Carla Cunningham in 2024. He's back in 2026 with little prospect of success. In his first run in 2022 against another entrenched conservative Black Democrat, Bowman didn't quite get to 17% of the vote. In '24 against Cunningham, he took less, 15%.

Bowman enlisted in the North Carolina Army National Guard and has served as a military police officer for five or six years. He's been an active Democrat in Mecklenburg County, served on the state exec committee, so it must have hurt when Gov. Josh Stein endorsed the other Democrat.