News

Combined elections/ethics board may live as Senate overrides Cooper veto

  It was only a matter of when, not if. The state Senate announced shortly before 8 p.m. on Monday that it voted 33-15 along party lines to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 68 to create the North Carolina Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. The veto override is now...

Dan Way
News

Currituck County fed up with solar

Large solar projects haven’t been a good deal for Currituck County residents, says Bobby Hanig, the county commission’s chairman. The developers “have consistently tried to go back on what has been agreed upon in open meetings, and brought on extra work for county staff to ensure they are doing what is asked of them,” he...

Don Carrington
Video

Carolina Journal’s Rick Henderson assesses Gov. Cooper’s Appeals Court appointment

Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses Gov. Roy Cooper’s appointment of John Arrowood to replace Doug McCullough on the N.C. Court of Appeals. Henderson offered these comments during the April 24, 2017, edition of Spectrum News’ “Capital Tonight.”

Rick Henderson
News

Cooper replaces Republican McCullough with Democrat Arrowood on appeals court

With just over a month remaining before he would be forced by state law to retire due to age limitations, North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Douglas McCullough, a Republican, tendered his resignation effective Monday to Gov. Roy Cooper. Cooper nominated former Court of Appeals Judge John Arrowood, a Democrat, to replace McCullough, and he...

Dan Way
News

Lawmaker makes 11th hour effort to advance craft beer bill

RALEIGH — One state lawmaker is making a last ditch effort to give craft brewers a break from restrictive distribution laws. Rep. John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg, on Monday said he wants to reach a compromise on House Bill 500, which was gutted last week of a provision that would have lifted the cap on the 25,000 barrels...

Kari Travis

Opinion

Elections

News

Trump nominates Bishop to be deputy director for budget at OMB

"Dan has been a tireless fighter for our MAGA Movement in the House of Representatives on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees," Trump said in a press release issued Tuesday night. "Dan will implement my cost-cutting and deregulatory agenda across all Agencies, and root out the Weaponized Deep State."

Theresa Opeka
News

Democrats want federal court to address GOP challenge of 60,000 NC ballots

The North Carolina Democratic Party filed a lawsuit Friday to ensure challenges of 60,000 ballots in the state's latest election are addressed in federal court. Republicans filed the challenges with the State Board of Elections. The challenges could affect the outcome of the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin, along with a handful of state legislative contests.

CJ Staff
News

Griffin asks Appeals Court to order decision on election protests by Tuesday

Republican North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin is turning to North Carolina’s second-highest court for an order that would force state election officials to make a final decision about Griffin’s election protests Tuesday. The State Board of Elections had planned to hear oral arguments about the protests the following day, according to a document Griffin filed Friday with the state Court of Appeals.

CJ Staff

Videos

Video

Locke’s Mitch Kokai responds to AG Jackson’s lawsuit over SNAP benefits

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson joining Democratic counterparts in other states in a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration. It focuses on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Kokai offered these comments during the Oct. 31, 2025, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai
Video

Locke’s Donald Bryson discusses SCOTUS case dealing with Trump’s emergency tariffs

Donald Bryson, John Locke Foundation CEO and Carolina Journal publisher, discusses the US Supreme Court case addressing President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs. Locke filed a joint amicus brief challenging the constitutionality of emergency tariffs. Bryson offered these comments during the Oct. 28, 2025, episode of Spectrum News’ “Capital Tonight.”

Donald Bryson
Video

Carolina Journal’s Donna King analyzes NC congressional redistricting plans

Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses the North Carolina General Assembly’s plans to redraw the state’s congressional election map. King offered these comments during the Oct. 17, 2025, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Donna King
Video

Podcast: Revolutionary Roads

As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026, this podcast explores North Carolina’s pivotal role in the nation’s founding — from the War of Regulation to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse and beyond. This 10-episode series, hosted by John Locke Foundation CEO Donald Bryson, features guests with...

Video

The Debrief: Legislator arrested, Iryna’s Law aftermath, Oct. 7 remembered

This week on The Debrief, a Guilford County legislator’s arrest on sex-related charges prompts quick reaction from colleagues. Gov. Josh Stein chose an unusual way to signal his signing of Iryna’s Law. We discuss the governor’s video message and get expert analysis of the law’s potential impact. We also highlight a possible federal response. Lawmakers at the...

Culture

Civil Society

Opinion

For healthy civil society, politics needs to stay in its lane

Political and cultural causes are important. They motivate us to make the world around us better and hone our sense of justice. Also, the excitement of fighting the good fight can be, for lack of a better word, fun. But everything has its time and place. And even if we think a particular political issue...

David Larson
Opinion

Flashback: North Carolina’s Easter Monday tradition forged on the baseball diamond

On Good Friday state offices will be closed in North Carolina for Holy Week, along with 10 other states. However, that has not always been the case in North Carolina. The Monday after Easter — rather than Good Friday — was a legal holiday in North Carolina for 52 years, and for many years before...

Dallas Woodhouse