How UNITE HERE’s Ground Game Helped Progressive Challengers Topple GOP-Backed Democrats in North Carolina

In a state where conservative Democrats have long enabled Republican agendas, North Carolina’s March 2026 primaries marked a turning point. Three incumbents who consistently voted with the GOP — including Rep. Carla Cunningham, who sided with Republicans 84% of the time and helped override Democratic Governor Josh Stein’s vetoes — were ousted by progressive challengers. This wasn’t a fluke. It was the result of organized, relentless grassroots pressure spearheaded by UNITE HERE, a hospitality workers union that knocked on 46,000 doors statewide.

Maria Hernandez, a food service worker at Charlotte airport and leader of UNITE HERE Local 23, was on the frontlines of this effort. She and her union comrades didn’t just campaign — they confronted a climate of fear and political betrayal head-on. Hernandez recalls the traumatic immigration raids that swept through her Latino community in Charlotte, trapping hundreds of families, many of whom are U.S. citizens, in a state of terror. These raids were sanctioned by politicians like Cunningham, who sided with anti-immigrant forces instead of protecting their constituents.

That betrayal sparked Hernandez’s activism. “We were trapped in an area where we should feel free,” she said. “We shouldn’t live that way.” UNITE HERE’s campaign wasn’t just about winning elections; it was about reclaiming dignity and power for working-class immigrant communities targeted by systemic racism and state violence.

The union’s strategy was simple but effective: show up in neighborhoods, talk to voters face-to-face, and build trust. Hernandez shares a vivid story of convincing a man and his family, initially too scared to vote because of threats and intimidation, to cast their ballots. Union members wore bright orange vests at polling places, signaling solidarity and protection against harassment, even from ICE agents. Their presence turned polling sites into safe zones, empowering people to participate in democracy despite the risks.

This victory in North Carolina is a blueprint for labor and community coalitions nationwide. It shows how organized workers can challenge the complacency of corporate-aligned Democrats and push for a genuinely progressive agenda. Hernandez’s story underscores that political change isn’t handed down from above — it’s built from the ground up by those who refuse to be silenced or sidelined.

UNITE HERE’s success is a sharp rebuke to politicians who cozy up to authoritarian immigration policies and betray working-class voters. It’s a reminder that when people organize, show up, and demand accountability, even entrenched power structures can be shaken. For anyone fighting corruption, democratic backsliding, and systemic injustice, this is a lesson worth learning and replicating.