News

Governor chooses Glenn M. McNeill as Highway Patrol commander

RALEIGH – Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed Glenn M. McNeill as commander of the State Highway Patrol. Cooper also appointed Lt.Col. Vic Ward, who has served as acting commander since Jan. 9, as SHP deputy commander. “The brave men and women of the Highway Patrol work tirelessly to protect North Carolina, and I’m thankful for...

Barry Smith
News

Foxx’s House committee hears Obamacare horror stories

Small businesses are still hurting from the effects of Obamacare, several entrepreneurs testified on Wednesday before a congressional committee looking at the impacts of and considering alternative to the 2010 health insurance law. The main message business owners gave to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th District: Providing...

Dan Way
News

State superintendent kicks off listening tour in Winston-Salem

RALEIGH — State Superintendent Mark Johnson will kick-off his listening tour of North Carolina’s public school system Friday. Johnson last month promised he would travel the state to hear concerns from each district. The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County district — where Johnson previously served as a school board member — will be his first stop. “Winston-Salem is known...

Kari Travis
News

Wilmington lawyer picked to replace Hamilton in House

RALEIGH — Deb Butler, a Wilmington attorney, has been selected to replace former Rep. Susi Hamilton in the state House. Hamilton, a New Hanover County Democrat, resigned to accept the job of secretary of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in Gov. Roy Cooper’s Cabinet. Butler, who unsuccessfully ran for state Senate in 2012,...

Barry Smith
News

N.C. ranked 43rd in national survey of patient health care access

Robert Graboyes’ 93-year-old mother had a phone and an iPad, and she knew how to use them. Those skills probably saved her life. During a Facetime conversation a few years ago with her grandson, a medical doctor, she complained about a lingering sore. As Graboyes’ nephew watched her breathing and facial expressions, he knew something...

Dan Way

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