North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein saw several vetoes overridden in 2025, but maybe none as surprising as his veto of HB 805.
The legislation censored school library books and implemented new policies affecting transgender North Carolinians, such as recognizing only two sexes and allowing lawsuits against medical providers who provide gender-affirming care. Stein vetoed the bill on the grounds that it discriminated against the LGBTQ community, and Democrats initially appeared united in their support of Stein’s position.
But his veto was unexpectedly overridden as a result of a single Democrat, Rep. Nasif Majeed of Charlotte, breaking from his party to vote with Republicans.
Now, Majeed faces a primary challenge in his bid to return to the North Carolina General Assembly.
At 81 years old, Majeed was already facing questions over his fitness for such a demanding role. But now, Majeed is facing greater questions over whether his positions no longer align with his district.
Majeed has been drifting further and further from Democrats in recent years, beginning with his support of a 2023 bill that advocates described as “a grab bag of special favors to big polluters.”
The bill, HB 600, significantly rolled back environmental protections governing hog waste, livestock disposal, stormwater protections, and carcinogenic pollutants in the water. Former Gov. Roy Cooper called the bill a “hodgepodge of bad provisions that will result in dirtier water, discriminatory permitting, and threats to North Carolina’s environment.”
Advocates were particularly concerned with the legislation’s loosening of restrictions on hog farmers, who have historically polluted communities of color. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice called HB 600 a “slap in the face to the thousands of Black and Indigenous North Carolinians, whose lives and homes have been intentionally desecrated by the stench and pollution of these farms.”
Despite progressive opposition, Majeed would ultimately be one of just five Democrats to side with Republicans in overriding Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of HB 600.
Majeed also joined the Republican majority to pass Senate Bill 266 over Governor Stein’s veto, allowing Duke Energy to raise North Carolinians’ energy rates. One study out of NC State estimates that the new legislation could result in $23 billion in additional costs for ratepayers through 2050 due to higher fossil fuel costs, and $87 million per year in additional costs for residential customers due to a purchased power cost shift from industrial energy users.
Again, Majeed was an outlier among Democrats– just one of three who voted to override the veto of SB 266.
In 2025, Rep. Majeed ultimately voted with Republicans 70% of the time– despite just 13% of his district voting for the conservative NC House candidate in 2024.
Majeed has said little to explain his tilt to the right, but he did make one statement to reporters last year regarding HB 805. Majeed said, “I’ll put it in a blanket situation: There were some moral issues in there that I had some sentiments, some deep sentiments about it.”
Majeed declined to elaborate further on what those moral issues or deep sentiments were. But it appears that those issues are guiding his policy-making decisions going into 2026.
Majeed is facing two primary opponents, including Democrat Veleria Levy, who has already earned the endorsements of groups like the Sunrise Movement and the Sierra Club. Levy has over two decades of experience in public health and policy advocacy, including serving as Executive Director of the North Carolina AIDS Action Network.
Charlotte voters will ultimately determine whether Rep. Majeed earns another term in the NC House when primary elections are held on Tuesday, March 3.
As the primary elections come closer, here are some important dates to keep in mind:
- Voter registration deadline is Feb. 6th
- In-person early voting starts Feb. 12th and ends on Feb. 28th.
- The primary election day is March 3rd.
For more information about this year’s primary elections, go to NCSBE.gov
