Who is North Carolina's Governor? An Expert's Perspective

Learn about North Carolina's governor and their role in state government from an expert's perspective. Find out about their powers and limitations.

Who is North Carolina's Governor? An Expert's Perspective

For centuries, North Carolina has been known for its weak executive branch, with the state's governor having limited power. This was due to the harsh treatment of the state by British governors in the colonial period before the American Revolution. Even after an amendment to the state constitution in 1977, North Carolina governors are still restricted to a single four-year term and cannot run for re-election. In addition, they cannot exercise party veto authority, making them one of only six states with this limitation.The Governor of North Carolina is responsible for preparing and presenting the state budget to the North Carolina General Assembly.

They also have broad appointing powers of executive branch officials, some judges, and members of boards and commissions. However, no elected governor can take office until they have been sworn in before the Chief Justice of North Carolina. Furthermore, they are limited to two consecutive terms in office, after which they must wait for a term before being eligible to run again.The partisanship of the North Carolina state government and its State Quality of Life Index (SQLI) ranking have fluctuated over the years. The SQLI score was in the 30s for most of the study years, with its lowest ranking in 2003, finishing in 41st place.

In 2000, Roy Cooper won the first election as North Carolina Attorney General, defeating Republican Dan Boyce and Reform Party candidate Margaret.After Governor Pat McCrory's concession in 2016, conflicts began to arise between Cooper and the North Carolina General Assembly. This included efforts to restructure the state board of elections, require Senate approval of cabinet-level appointments, and reduce the number of judges appointed by the governor to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.As Republican power grew in North Carolina after 1950, state elections for governor became increasingly competitive. The following link is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Governor of North Carolina.

Anne Hagemeyer
Anne Hagemeyer

Passionate travel buff. Amateur twitter guru. Passionate zombie geek. Total web fanatic. Unapologetic burrito geek.