North Carolina’s latest Democratic governor has been sworn into office with the new year. Josh Stein took the oath on Wednesday during a short ceremony. He succeeds Roy Cooper, who was barred by the state constitution from seeking a third consecutive gubernatorial term. While Republicans have recently dominated the General Assembly and the appellate courts in North Carolina, Democrats have now won eight of the last nine gubernatorial elections since 1992. Stein’s powers have already been challenged by Republican lawmakers. A larger, outdoor inauguration for Stein and other elected members of the Council of State is set for Jan. 11.
