Democrats’ efforts to break the veto-proof Republican majority in the Legislature appear to have secured an additional seat.

Several seats flipped parties in the NC House, but each party’s gains were far outweighed by the losses.

In Granville and Vance counties, north of the Triangle, Republican Rep. Frank Sossamon appears to have narrowly lost to Bryan Cohn, a Democrat who serves on the Oxford City Commission. And in Wilson’s area, Democrat Dante Pittman finished ahead of Republican Ken Fontenot.

But in Cabarrus County, Democratic Rep. Diamond Staton-Williams to Republican Jonathan Almond, who works in a finance role for a Smithfield barbecue franchise.

Democrat Beth Helfrich flipped a vacant seat in northern Mecklenburg County that is currently held by a Republican, but Republican Mike Schietzelt flipped a vacant seat in northern Wake County currently held by a Democrat.

And Rep. Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg, who is switching parties, appears to be keeping her seat, but the race could be headed for a recount.

House seats in other competitive districts remained with the same party: Republican Reps. Bill Ward and Allen Chesser were re-elected, as was Democratic Rep. Lindsay Prather, who faced a strong challenge in the only competitive legislative race in the Asheville area.

In the Senate, incumbent Republican senators from competitive districts won re-election, retaining the 30 GOP seats needed to override next year’s veto by Gov.-elect Josh Stein. Two close races likely up for recount in Wake and Mecklenburg counties will determine whether Republicans expand their Senate majority.

From 2019 to 2022, Republicans held majorities in the House and Senate, but their numbers were below the veto protection threshold.

During that time, Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed 47 Republican bills on topics ranging from immigration enforcement to gun regulations, and none of those vetoes was canceled.

The GOP fell one seat short of a supermajority in the 2022 election, prompting House Speaker Tim Moore to declare his party had won a “functional supermajority” — in hopes it could get at least one moderate Democrat to cross party lines on an override. This same dynamic could be at work in 2025 in the House.

Bipartisanship proved unnecessary a few months later, in the spring of 2023, when longtime Democratic Rep. Tricia Cotham announced she would switch parties and become a Republican. She has since become a reliable vote for the GOP on almost every issue, and most of Cooper’s vetoes over the past two years have been overridden.

The results of this shift in power include a ban on most abortions after 12 weeks, relaxed regulations on gun sales, and new restrictions on transgender people in sports.