North Carolina Democratic governor vetoes abortion ban, setting up likely override vote

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a controversial bill that would ban most abortions after 12 weeks, setting up a likely override effort from the state legislature, where Republicans have a supermajority.

Cooper’s swift veto comes just over a week after the Republican-controlled state Senate advanced the bill to his desk in a party-line vote.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters at a rally in Raleigh before his veto, Cooper urged those gathered to put pressure on four state Republican lawmakers who had previously vowed to protect abortion rights to stand by their comments and not join any veto override.

“We are going to have to kick it into an even higher gear when that veto stamp comes down. If just one Republican in either the House or the Senate keeps a campaign promise to protect women’s reproductive health we can stop this ban,” Cooper said at the Saturday rally. “But that’s going to take every single one of you to make calls, to send emails, to write letters. Tell them to sustain this veto. Tell them to ask the Republican leadership to stop it.”

Ahead of the veto, Cooper had moved to escalate pressure on the four Republicans – state Reps. Ted Davis, John Bradford, Tricia Cotham and Republican State Sen. Michael Lee – by paying visits to their districts. All four previously vowed to protect abortion rights and held roundtable discussions there on the topic in the hopes of appealing to those lawmakers and their constituents.

CNN has reached out to the lawmakers for comment. Davis declined to comment on his plans, while the others have not responded.

If both chambers approve the override by three-fifths majority, the bill becomes law. If it does not get the votes, then the governor’s veto remains.

Demi Dowdy, a spokesperson for Republican House Speaker Tim Moore, told CNN she is confident lawmakers…