Democrat Suffers Heavy Election Defeat After Backing Pro-ICE Bill

A seven-term North Carolina Democratic state representative was decisively defeated in her party’s primary Tuesday, after voting in support of legislation expanding cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Carla Cunningham, the Democratic representative for the 106th North Carolina House District since 2013, won 22 percent of the vote compared with challenger Reverend Rodney Sadler, who won 70 percent, according to The Associated Press.

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In July, Cunningham broke with her party to support a Republican-backed bill that would increase cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE. Her single Democratic vote overrode Governor Josh Stein’s veto of the bill by giving it the required three-fifths majority.

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“All cultures are not equal. Some immigrants come and believe they can function in isolation,” Cunningham said on the floor at the time of the vote. “I suggest they must assimilate. Adapt to the country they want to live in.”

The legislation requires county sheriffs to verify the citizenship of inmates and hold individuals for longer periods at ICE’s request.

Cunningham’s vote was the only Democratic yes in the House and was decisive in overriding Stein’s veto by a single vote. Afterward, her comments on the House floor about cultural assimilation drew criticism from fellow Democrats. In the wake of the vote, Stein endorsed Sadler, and the North Carolina Democratic Party withheld certain voter data tools from Cunningham’s campaign.

Sadler, a pastor and political newcomer, said Cunningham’s positions on immigration did not align with the views of many Democratic voters.

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