NC Rep. Carla Cunningham announces re-election bid

North Carolina Rep. Carla Cunningham has announced her re-election bid for an eighth term. She'll face a primary campaign after supporting several Republican initiatives, including an override earlier this year of Gov. Josh Stein's veto of legislation that requires local law enforcement to do more to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

North Carolina Rep. Carla Cunningham, a Democrat whose criticism of immigrants and willingness to support Republican legislation has drawn criticism within her party, is running for an eighth term.

Cunningham, who represents House District 106, has at least one opponent in the Rev. Rodney Sadler, who filed Monday and in an email reported he has raised more than $80,000 and endorsements from more than 20 community leaders. Morris McAdoo, a Charlotte attorney, has a campaign website, and Vermanno Bowman, who lost to Cunningham in 2024, announced his intentions on social media. Cunningham won that election with 84% of the vote.

District 106 is heavily Democratic, so the primary winner is likely to win the November election. 

Cunningham, a licensed nurse for more than 30 years, is a longtime advocate on health issues in the legislature, especially on maternal mortality and mental health. First elected in 2012, she is the widow of Excelsior Club owner and longtime Rep. member Pete Cunningham, who left the General Assembly in 2007 and died in 2010. 

Among House Democrats, Cunningham votes most often with the Republican majority, especially this year and has been rewarded with leadership positions such as co-chair of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, and vice-chair of the Health Committee. In a Friday email announcing her re-election campaign, she noted supporting bills that invested millions of dollars in funding for nonprofits and community organizations as well as programs that support children, seniors, mental-health services and Medicaid expansion.

“Expanding Medicaid was a decade-long fight, it is what brought me to Raleigh,” Cunningham said in the email. “More mental health providers are serving people covered by Medicaid since expansion and our overdoses are down. My work is not done though; vulnerable populations still need access to quality healthcare so families and communities can thrive.”

However, Cunningham’s vote to override Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of House Bill 318, which adds requirements on local law enforcement to help federal deportation efforts, infuriated Democrats and immigrant advocates. In a speech explaining her vote, Cunningham criticized immigrants who don’t assimilate.

“All cultures are not equal,” she said.

However, in her campaign email, Cunningham said her vote was about addressing serious criminal offenders. 

“My focus, and my vote, is regarding serious offenders and the importance of taking custody of those criminals in our jails, rather than out in our communities where others can be harmed,” she said. “I do not support any practices that intimidate law-abiding immigrant families. Community safety and community trust must coexist, and I will always stand up for both.”

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