Under the Dome podcast: Sen. Vickie Sawyer on politics, power — and high school sports
On our new episode of Under the Dome for the week of March 13, 2023, The News & Observer’s North Carolina politics podcast, host Dawn Vaughan interviews Sen. Vickie Sawyer, a Republican from Mooresville.
Sawyer, a former high school athlete who has also coached sports, talks with Vaughan about previous and pending high school sports legislation, and her own experiences.
“I grew up playing sports, and that was like my No. 1 enjoyment of school — going to go play softball, going to the softball field, and tennis and basketball. It was such an enriching part of my life. And then I also coached young women’s sports,” Sawyer said.
Sawyer also tells Vaughan why she is the one Republican sponsor who signed on to a Democratic bill meant to prevent discrimination against Black hairstyles — and why it’s related to the conversation about sports.
Power, politics and abortion
They also talk about what it was like being on the floor during Gov. Roy Cooper’s State of the State address and what it means to have a Republican supermajority in the Senate.
“I don’t care who you are: To sit there and look at the governor address you and the Council of State, and it’s like all of the power of North Carolina and how government works all in one spot, and that always gives me chills,” Sawyer said.
She also talked about the “difference in the air,” and what it means as a Republican in the supermajority not to have the governor as a scapegoat for legislation that might be vetoed.
The most controversial bill written by Republicans this session is likely to be about abortion. She shared what’s going into the process of writing the bill, and needing at least one Democratic vote to pass it.
“It’s not like you’re gonna move somebody away from how they feel about abortion,” Sawyer said. “And how do you kind of strike that right tone? And that’s going to be a difficult one. I don’t have the secret sauce on this.”
Republicans are united on the need for abortion restrictions but have been divided on when they should kick in, with some suggesting various numbers of weeks into a pregnancy. Listen to what she says about what will determine the number of weeks’ gestation, what she told her Republican colleagues and what else should be in the bill.
“So how can we, as a General Assembly, and as a state, better protect and care for women, so they can make the choice to have life? That is really where I’ve been focusing on,” said Sawyer, who said she is glad the legislature is expanding Medicaid, among other things.
Cafeteria food and Headliner of the Week
On a less serious note, stay tuned for the end-of-the-episode talk about food and the Senate.
Both Sawyer’s pick for what she orders in the Legislative Cafeteria and what she picks for Headliner of the Week have to do with senators’ sense of humor. Spoiler alert: Both Sen. Ralph Hise and Sen. Michael Lazzara are mentioned.
Listen to our latest episode below and catch up on previous episodes. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, iHeart, Pandora, Amazon Music and Stitcher.
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Under the Dome podcast: Sen. Vickie Sawyer on politics, power — and high school sports."
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