Republicans dominating a nearly half-empty North Carolina House chamber held an unexpected vote Wednesday and managed to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the state’s two-year budget. Republican leaders had spent months trying to persuade enough Democrats to meet the threshold for an override, and finally seized a moment when Democrats opposed to the budget weren’t at their seats. The few Democrats who were on the House floor moments before the 55-9 vote erupted in protest, accusing Republican Speaker Tim Moore of tricking the chamber about the day’s plans.
