Lessons in leverage and political power

The week in North Carolina politics started off in bipartisan bliss with a bill signing ceremony on Medicaid expansion. Then Republicans shut off debate and used a handful of key Democratic absences to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto on a gun bill. Now it's budget time, and GOP lawmakers hold the cards, empowering them to to drop their policies into a crucial budget plan. It's an offer Democrats can hardly refuse. 

WRAL News coverage of North Carolina politics and state government. Produced by WRAL News in Raleigh, NC.