News

Inflation boosts cost of living in N.C. by 12%, higher than national average

To demonstrate the costs of inflation, LIBRE's event organizers emphasized that high inflation has caused the average household's annual grocery costs to go up by about $430. LIBRE also gave out gift cards during the event in the amount of $28.67, the average cost of inflation for two days

Zach Rounceville

U.S. Supreme Court will hear N.C. redistricting case

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed without comment Thursday to take up a dispute involving N.C. election maps. Justices will consider the case Moore v. Harper after the court returns from a summer break. Justices will decide “Whether a State’s judicial branch may nullify the regulations governing the ‘Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives...

CJ Staff

Education emerging as key election issue, poll shows

A new poll from a national charter school group indicates that many parents could become single-issue voters on the topic of education.

N.C. House to consider making school superintendent the chair of state board of education

A proposed constitutional amendment to make the state superintendent of public instruction the chair of the N.C. State Board of Education will be considered by the N.C. House Thursday June 30, after passing the House Education and House Rules committees on Wednesday. Currently Catherine Truitt, a Republican, is the N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction, elected by voters...

Opportunity Scholarships get a boost in new N.C. budget

The revised budget being considered this week by the North Carolina General Assembly would increase funding for the Opportunity Scholarship Program and raise income thresholds needed to qualify. The budget puts an extra $56 million into the reserve fund for the scholarships, which are designed to give low- and moderate-income families the opportunity to leave their...

Medicaid ‘home health’ spending needs a closer look

While NC's $35 billion budget seems large, consider that spending on the state's Medicaid program ALONE spends that much, mostly through the federal government.

David Larson

Federalist 18: Insufficiency of Present Confederation to Preserve Union cont..

As a weak government, when not at war, is ever agitated by internal dissentions, so these never fail to bring on fresh calamities from abroad.

James Madison

Innovative ideas for cost savings in NC Medicaid

We recognize the need for creative investments that will help sustain supports and services for individuals with IDD, promoting independence and decreasing dependency on paid supports, and saving Medicaid dollars to be used in other ways.

Lisa Poteat

Supreme Court was right to protect donor privacy, and NC was ready

This decision is good news for every organization that has ever stood in government’s crosshairs for holding the “wrong” views. And it is good news for every North Carolinian who has ever written a check to a cause worth fighting for.

Jeanette Doran

Hedge-fund winnings from courtroom bets aren’t capital gains

When a hedge fund stakes $20 million on a mass tort and walks away with $200 million, somehow the IRS is supposed to treat it like a lucrative investment into an early Silicon Valley unicorn.

Yaël Ossowski

Should NC reform its primary system? The case to return to 40% threshold

In a Carolina Journal poll conducted shortly after the November elections, 43% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the results of the 2024 primaries, stating that they did not produce the best candidates for the general election. While 46% were satisfied and 10% were unsure, the significant level of dissatisfaction highlights potential issues within North Carolina’s primary system.

Donna King

Boliek sworn in as state auditor, says he’ll start with audit of DMV

On Wednesday, Dave Boliek was sworn in as the new state auditor of North Carolina and announced his hires for senior staff and says he will start work with an audit of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Katherine Zehnder

2024 in review: A year of civic engagement in NC

The year 2024 was marked by significant developments across politics, the economy, education, and energy in North Carolina. As one of the nation’s most dynamic and closely watched states, it played a pivotal role in shaping regional and national conversations.

Donna King

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

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

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

UNC-Asheville whistleblower complaint explored

Carolina Journal reporter David Bass speaks with former University of North Carolina at Asheville research assistant Aidan Settman about his whistleblower complaint against the university.

Locke’s Mitch Kokai analyzes NC’s marquee Senate race

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses North Carolina’s high-profile US Senate race. Kokai offered these comments during an April 21, 2026, interview with WNCN (CBS17).

Mitch Kokai

Locke’s Donald Bryson analyzes NC teacher pay proposals

John Locke Foundation CEO Donald Bryson discusses current ideas for raising teacher pay in North Carolina. Bryson offered these comments during the April 10, 2026, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Donald Bryson

Locke’s Mitch Kokai analyzes Berger’s election concession

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses Sen. Phil Berger’s concession in his primary election loss to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. Kokai offered these comments during the March 27, 2026, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai

Carolina Journal analyzes Berger’s election concession

Nick Craig of the Carolina Journal News Hour and the John Locke Foundation’s Mitch Kokai discuss Senate Leader Phil Berger’s election concession on March 24, 2026.

NIck Craig, Mitch Kokai

Cooper, King analyze recent polling in NC’s US Senate race

Political scientist Chris Cooper of Western Carolina University and Carolina Journal Editor-in-Chief Donna King discuss recent polls in North Carolina’s 2026 US Senate race. Cooper and King offered these comments during the Jan. 23, 2026, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Donna King

2027 Military World Games: Charlotte to make history as first US host city

The Queen City is set to be the first US host of the 2027 Military World Games.

Katherine Zehnder

How UNC silenced satire and the Daily Tar Heel

The articles may have been a bit out of touch, yes — but many of them were also really funny. And more importantly, students on campus should have the latitude to make clumsy jokes.

Isabella Cashman

The legend of North Carolina’s most famous mother

NC native Anna Whistler’s portrait (and life) still captivate 150 years later.

Ben Sellers

Carolinians helped shape comic culture

While we properly associate American pop culture with places such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, I’d recently come to appreciate the pivotal contributions of North and South Carolinians to the pulp fiction of the early 20th century and the comic-book culture that followed it.

John Hood

Gov. Stein presents Long Leaf Pine honors at Executive Mansion

The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is one of North Carolina’s highest civilian honors, awarded to individuals with a proven record of extraordinary service to the state.

Anna Claire Walker

A post-Thanksgiving reflection on gratitude over grievance

Outrage won’t solve our problems. And it won’t prepare us for tomorrow. What is needed now is a sense of redemption and reasons to feel hopeful.

Michael Cooper

The importance of civic engagement 250 years after the founding

What YMCA's Youth and Government program is doing is remarkable. This year’s conference garnered interest from NC state legislators, mayors, policy analysts, and state officials.

Drew DiMeglio

Institute fosters stronger public leadership

Times change. When we introduce IOPL to potential fellows, partners, and donors, some hear the word “political” and think “toxic,” or at least “partisan.”

John Hood

NC leaders champion post-election unity through ‘Civic Saturdays’

Like a faith gathering, it incorporated music, fellowship, shared meals, and thoughtful discourse — but with democracy as its central theme.

Ashlynn Warta

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