North Carolinians sent a resounding message last week that they wanted change. With an opening press conference focused on lowering costs and fostering bipartisan collaboration, House Democrats appear ready to deliver it. 

This is going to be the first time in 15 years that the North Carolina House of Representatives will have a Democratic majority. And it’s a robust majority, the biggest Democratic majority in the state House since 1992. That will likely tee up Rep. Robert Reives, who has served as the House Democratic leader since 2021, as North Carolina’s next Speaker of the House. 

Rep. Reives held his first press conference this week to lay out Democrats’ gameplan for the next two years. Here’s what North Carolinians can expect Democrats to prioritize. 

Lowering Costs

It goes without saying that this has been a tough few years for working families. Gas, groceries, healthcare– you name it, it’s getting too expensive. And with the war, tariffs, and cuts, Washington has only been making things worse. 

NC House Democrats are laser-focused on lowering costs. They know that’s why they were elected, and they know that’s the main metric that voters will grade them on. 

“We will not be able to solve every problem facing our state quickly but I promise you this: We are going to work as hard as we can to make life more affordable and deliver for you and your families,” said Leader Reives. “That is why you sent us here, and we will not forget it.” 

He added later in the press conference: “There’s no reason that the richest country in the world… has most of its people trying to make a decision between buying prescription medicine, getting healthcare, and paying off a mortgage.” 

Democrats have a whole stack of affordability legislation that has been tabled by Republicans over the past couple years. Expect them to be reviving some of those bills and crafting some new ones with the help of legislators on both sides of the aisle. 

Strengthening Public Schools

North Carolina has become infamous for its lack of funding for public schools. We ranked dead last in funding effort last year, and even with the approval of modest teacher raises in this year’s budget, NC still ranks 40th in the country in teacher pay. 

A big reason why NC doesn’t have enough money for our public schools is because Republican lawmakers have consistently funneled taxpayer dollars to wealthy families in the form of private school vouchers. Republicans removed the income cap to qualify for the program, meaning the state’s wealthiest families are now receiving taxpayer dollars to send their kids to private schools. NC ended up burning nearly $600 million on vouchers last school year. Leader Reives wants to rein in that spending so that public schools can begin getting the resources they need. 

“I think one thing that Republicans and Democrats agree on is that it is ridiculous that somebody who is making millions of dollars gets a coupon from the state when we can’t afford to pay for public education,” Reives said. “There’s got to be some oversight. There’s got to be some accountability.” 

Comprise, Transparency, and Avoiding Gridlock

Over the past few years, the NC General Assembly has become accustomed to operating in the dark, behind closed doors and away from the public eye. There have been fewer debates, less transparency on how decisions are being made, and little effort to work across the aisle. The lack of collaboration and accountability are both reasons why it took Republicans nearly 3 years to pass the last state budget. 

Leader Reives said that Democrats will try to improve the policymaking process as a whole. That means more debate, greater transparency, and hopefully more compromise. 

“And unlike what we have seen in the last 15 years, we don’t care who gets credit. We just want people to be able to save money, get more money available to them and make life less expensive,” Reives said. 

“If Republicans have some good ideas about saving money, they’re going to be at the front of the table,” Reives continued. “Compromise is not capitulation. Compromise is the job.”

Expect to see a government that’s less focused on politics, and more focused on delivering for North Carolina. 

But First, a Lame-Duck Session

Democrats are gearing up for next year, but first, the Republican majority in the NC General Assembly still has some votes scheduled for the last few weeks of 2026. Historically, they’ve used this time of year to pass power grabs so that they could hold on to power in the wake of election losses. 

There’s nothing North Carolinians want to see less than a last-ditch power grab being prioritized over addressing the issues facing our state. North Carolinians want a government that will prioritize problem-solving, not partisan games. Our state will be watching closely in the coming days, and we’re hopeful that we’ll see the beginning of a new era of bipartisanship and collaboration in Raleigh.