This weekend in Wilson, the North Carolina Democratic Party will vote on their officers for the next election cycle. Anderson Clayton, the current chair, is asking to be re-elected, as is the first vice chair, Jonah Garson. They have a lot to be proud of, winning much of what matters most in the state in 2024 — the governor’s race, the attorney general’s race, the only competitive congressional race, the Supreme Court race, and enough seats to break the Republicans’ legislative supermajority in one chamber. They weren’t happy about Trump’s win, I’m sure, but otherwise, it was a very solid cycle for them.
But, now, on the eve of their big party elections, when the leaders would prefer to be touting all this recent success and riding it to another term in leadership, embarrassing internal conflicts are hitting the press.
Emails to media
Early in January, others in the media and I started to receive emails attempting to drum up negative stories on rival factions in the party.
An email I received on Jan. 4 claimed that a grievance case filed by some Democrat insiders against former state Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr, who was the immediate past first vice chair of the state party, was “blatantly racist and full of lies.” The document claims proper process was not followed when McKissick, who is black, allegedly added wording to the platform that “contained dog whistle language that had racist and Islamophobic overtones.”
So, if I understand correctly, those writing the grievance accused McKissick of racism, and then the email accused them of racism for accusing McKissick of racism. The document in question is below:
A little over a month later, I (along with many others in the media) received another email from the address that sent the Jan. 4 email, who I will allow to remain anonymous because they sent the emails as tips. This time, they made a number of allegations about Jonah Garson, who is the current NC Democratic Party first vice chair, who ran against McKissick for the seat in 2023 and won.
A very similar anonymous letter has been sent to the entire NCDP executive committee, which Bryan Anderson of Anderson Alerts has now reported. That email can be seen below:
Jonah Garson, naturally, did not appreciate an anonymous attack on his character right before the vote.
(The name Albert Rossi is attached to the email, but it seems Democrats are assuming that is a fake name, since they are calling the email anonymous. It’s possible the name used to send me emails was not the person it claimed to be either, since it used a different email address than the one publicly available for that person. I reached out to the public email address and asked if they sent the emails but have not heard back by time of publishing.)
Garson told Bryan Anderson that the accusations were “false, defamatory, ugly [and] deeply upsetting,” adding that “I have never used cocaine in my life… And it’s an upsetting smear three days before whatever party election.”
NC Sen. Graig Meyer, my own state senator in Orange County, is furious over the email, telling Anderson Alerts, “Anyone who is going to make libelous accusations like this without putting their actual name on it is a f***ing p***y and they deserve to be sued.”
He continued, “I have known Jonah for over a decade. I have never known him to be a cocaine user or a substance abuser at any time. He deserves to be thanked and reelected for his work. Everyone needs to grow. Jonah and I have had disagreements over time. But he does not deserve this.”
The email by “Albert Rossi” to party officials included the same Youtube video, titled “Dems in Disarray,” that was sent in the earlier emails to me and other media. The video is of an incident at a Chapel Hill bar where Garson heatedly talks to the bartender about how a drunk patron allegedly tried to open his car door after leaving the establishment and whether that patron was under age.
The audio is very difficult to make out, but it doesn’t seem like the incident ever escalates beyond arguing with raised voices, although the bartender does tell Garson he’s not welcome there and should leave.
But in addition to the emails defending McKissick and trying to take down Garson, a story on inappropriate staff relationship dynamics also came out late this week.
Daniel Marans, senior politics reporter for HuffPo, dropped an article on Feb. 20 regarding an employee at the state Democratic Senate Caucus who had allegedly used her position to start a sexual relationship with a male under her supervision and then, when she no longer wished to continue the relationship, pressured him to end his employment early and sign away his right to sue.
New: When an employee of the North Carolina Democratic Party complained in December that he’d felt pressure to sleep with his female supervisor and subsequently felt that she grew cold to him and denied him professional opportunities, the party offered him a deal that moved up… pic.twitter.com/YfGmmmX4vY
— Daniel Marans (@danielmarans) February 20, 2025
It is not made clear who the male or female referenced in the article are, but other employees were aware of the incident and those involved. One Democratic operative familiar with the situation told HuffPo that she believes that if the genders had been swapped, it would have been taken more seriously.
“It shows that we’re not living our values,” she said anonymously to avoid retaliation. “We are the party of workers’ rights. We are the party of safe and inclusive environments where people feel comfortable.”
While state Democrats declined to comment on many of the details, they did tell HuffPo that, “[John Doe] was employed by the Senate Caucus during the 2024 election cycle as a temporary employee. The Senate Caucus functions separately from the state party. We are unable to discuss personnel matters, but can confirm a mutually agreeable separation agreement on behalf of the Senate Caucus,” adding, in case anyone was wondering, “Chair Clayton had no involvement with the matters which are the subject of your inquiry.”
Regardless, when party members vote this weekend, the bad blood among various factions may be considered alongside the relative electoral success Clayton oversaw this past cycle. This was especially visible when the party initially voted to deny the Jewish Caucus recognition, as they clashed with the Progressive Caucus over the war between Israel and Palestine.
Progressive Caucus president at the time Ryan Jenkins told WFAE, “If the [NC] Democratic Party caves to it [having a Jewish Caucus], that’s the end of the Democratic Party. We’re not Democrats, we’re the Jewish Caucus. We’re a Zionist group. Because they control everything.”
Another unanswered question is whether new Gov. Josh Stein will be able to help hold these factions together, or fundraise, as successfully as his predecessor Roy Cooper did. All of this will certainly be part of the backdrop to this Saturday’s vote.