A stunning election night ended with several election races — including the contest for governor — unresolved, even as Republicans Donald Trump and Richard Burr scored significant victories and the GOP retained its supermajority status in the General Assembly. In the race for governor, Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper claimed victory just before 1 a.m....
Located in western Mecklenburg County, House District 92 is the rare legislative swing district in the state’s most populous county. Democrat Chaz Beasley and Republican Beth Danae Caulfield are facing off to represent its voters. Republican Charles Jeter was elected to the seat in 2012 and 2014, winning with 51.4 percent of the vote in...
A continuing rift over taxpayer subsidies for renewable energy among House Republicans ignited during debate on a farm bill that includes a provision letting a biofuels company receive $50 million in tax credits. Critics called the provision “crony capitalism” that would cost state taxpayers up to $900,000 per job created. The amendment to Senate Bill...
Opponents of the proposed high-occupancy-or-toll lane project along Interstate 77 sense a bit of momentum after a bill ordering the N.C. Department of Transportation to cancel the project’s contract overwhelmingly passed the House. Now they’re turning their focus on the state Senate. One opponent of the HOT lanes project, Sen. Jeff Tarte, R-Mecklenburg, point to...
The state House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would put the brakes on the Interstate 77 high-occupancy or toll lanes project in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties. Rep. Charles Jeter, R-Mecklenburg, who sponsored House Bill 954, said the project cancels the project “under the premise of cause.” “It is my belief and some others’...
UPDATE: The N.C. House voted, 81-27, to approve this measure Thursday. It now heads to the Senate. RALEIGH — Efforts to block the controversial high-occupancy or toll lanes on Interstate 77 in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties gained momentum on Wednesday as a bill to cancel the project cleared two committees. The House has scheduled a...
Donald Trump is likely to win the Republican presidential nomination at or before the Cleveland nominating convention, and even though voters have soured on the candidates, the presidential race will drive turnout, a state Republican official says. “The mood is negative nationally. The mood is negative in the state,” Jim Burton, director of the state...
Two bills have been filed — one by a Democrat, the other by Republicans — that would terminate the Interstate 77 toll agreement in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties. Mecklenburg County Democratic Rep. Tricia Cotham, who is a candidate for the 12th Congressional District, filed one of the bills. The Republican bill was filed by Mecklenburg...
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won easily against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Tuesday’s Democratic presidential primary, while casino mogul Donald Trump staved off a late surge by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to claim victory in the GOP presidential contest. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton bested Sanders 55 percent to 41 percent,...
RALEIGH — Two House bills intended to reduce partisan manipulation of legislative redistricting could be acted on in the short session starting in April, though retiring Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee, predicted the Senate would not approve either. House members backing reform say they may not advance their measures if they have no chance of passing.
RALEIGH — An environmental group lauding North Carolina for ranking No. 4 nationally in solar energy capacity agrees with foes of renewable energy mandates — the state’s purported boom in clean energy mostly results from the government forcing utilities to purchase the higher-cost energy, along with lucrative incentive deals that shift costs to taxpayers.
