North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is beating the bushes to find one Republican vote to uphold his veto of the Republican abortion bill. Via The New York Times:
North Carolina’s Republican-dominated legislature has passed a bill banning most abortions after 12 weeks. Mr. Cooper, a Democrat, vetoed the bill. But to prevent the legislature from using its razor-thin supermajority to override his veto, Mr. Cooper is asking voters to pressure Republican lawmakers. Convincing just one legislator will keep the state’s current abortion law — allowing it up to 20 weeks — in place.
In Wilmington, he urged voters to send a message to their representatives in the legislature — “ask them to keep their promise” to preserve existing abortion laws, he said, referring to Republican lawmakers he said had previously signaled some support for abortion access.
Let them know, he said, “whether it’s a phone call, or it’s an email, or it’s a text.”
Mr. Cooper’s plea, and the showdown between the governor’s office and the legislature, represents an extraordinary moment in North Carolina politics, as well as in the nation’s volatile abortion fight.
Remember, this is the state where Democratic legislator Tricia Cotham switched parties at the last minute — and voted for the abortion bill, despite a previous floor speech about her own abortion. Magic 8-Ball says “Very doubtful.”
