By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Dan Blue, a groundbreaking figure in North Carolina politics across more than 40 years, will no longer serve as leader of state Senate Democrats after over a decade and is being replaced by another Raleigh-area lawmaker.
The Senate Democratic Caucus elected Sen. Sydney Batch as the minority leader entering the next two-year session, the caucus said in a news release Monday after it met privately.
Batch, a family law attorney who first entered the General Assembly in 2019, succeeds Blue, who before the leadership election “announced his desire to decline another term” as leader, the caucus release said.
“I am excited to pass the torch into the capable hands of Senator Batch,” Blue said in the release. No details on the vote were released.
Blue, 75, first joined the legislature in 1981 as a House member and 10 years later was elected North Carolina’s first — and still only — Black House speaker. He held the position for four years until Republicans took over the chamber.
He left the House following an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 2002. He returned to the House in 2006 and shifted to the Senate in 2009 — filling vacancies in both instances. In early 2014, Blue was elevated to the minority leader’s post after then-Sen. Martin Nesbitt stepped aside due to an illness. Nesbitt died days later.
As minority leader, Blue has been in the difficult position of finding ways to push back effectively against Republicans, who have held continuous control of the Senate since 2011. Through several years in the post — including most of 2023 and all of 2024 — the GOP has held veto-proof majorities in each General Assembly chamber.
While referencing a “new chapter” in caucus leadership, Batch praised Blue on Monday for “bringing forth his many years of experience gained through a historic tenure in both chambers of the General Assembly to deliver results for the people of North Carolina.”
Blue, who was reelected to a Wake County Senate seat last month, didn’t immediately respond to a text seeking comment.
In the next two-year session starting in January, Republicans will continue to hold at least 30 of the 50 Senate seats. But barring changes in an unresolved district race, House Republicans will fall just short of veto-proof control in their chamber — giving more leverage to Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Stein and his legislative allies.
Batch was first elected to the House in 2018 but lost a reelection bid two years later. In early 2021, she filled a Senate vacancy and was elected again in 2022 and last month. Batch is a breast cancer survivor who has spoken out on issues involving health care and support for abortion rights.
Batch said the Democratic caucus “remains focused on creating a North Carolina where every resident can build the life they want for their families and themselves, and we are ready to work to get North Carolina back on the right track.”
The Senate Democratic Caucus also on Monday reelected Sen. Jay Chaudhuri of Wake County as the minority whip.
Separately on Monday, the House Democratic Caucus reelected Rep. Robert Reives of Chatham County for another two-year term as minority leader. Reives joined the House in early 2014 and was elected the Democrats’ leader after the 2020 elections, succeeding then-Rep. Darren Jackson.