North Carolina Democrats are furious after Republicans hold surprise budget vote with just over half of members

North Carolina Democrats.
(Image credit: Gerry Broome/AP)

North Carolina House Democrats were left in a rage Wednesday after their Republican counterparts voted to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of the state budget. They weren't just upset with the result, however. It was how the GOP got it done that riled up the Democrats.

At the time of the vote, only 64 of the 120 members were present, including just 12 Democrats; House Democratic leader Darren Jackson said he told his caucus they didn't need to attend Wednesday morning's session because state Rep. David Lewis (R) said there would be no votes recorded during that time. The Republican House Speaker, Rep. Tim Moore, said that announcement was never made.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.