Rather than viewing urbanization as a threat, conservatives should embrace it as an opportunity — focusing on issues like housing, infrastructure, school choice, and public safety that can broaden their urban appeal.
North Carolina Republicans desperately want to break the Democrats’ hold on the Governor’s Mansion and other key Council of State races including the important Attorney General’s race. Democrats are hoping to keep these and expand their success. For either side to achieve their goals in 2024, they must improve vote totals in counties that were...
Some advocates of "fair" election maps want competitive races that are likely to lead to a nearly even split of contested seats between the major parties. Those goals rarely coexist.
North Carolina has long been a political battleground — but the shape of that battlefield has changed significantly over time. Fifteen years ago, for example, Democrat Mike Easley was completing his last year as our state’s governor. He’d cruised to reelection in 2004 with roughly 56% of the vote. Democrats were firmly in charge of...
Donald Trump’s visit to New Hanover County, specifically the Wilmington International Airport, highlights the importance of the “Port City” and its home county, one of two North Carolina counties that embraced Trump in 2016 and rejected him in 2020. New Hanover has become one of the most purple counties in North Carolina, and the largest...
Neither Democrats no Republicans are content simply to clasp national coattails. And both are courting voters who live in urban townhouses, rural ranch houses, and everything in between.
If we forget that there are lots of Democratic voters in “red” counties and Republican voters in “blue” ones, we exaggerate the extent of the partisan divide and oversimplify conditions that are actually complicated and interesting.
Everyone loves lists, and the internet age now has us addicted to them — the top-five greatest tennis grand-slam finals between left-handers, the top 10 best-looking spouses of celebrity chefs, etc. Obviously, I jumped at the chance when asked to compile a list of such lists of North Carolina politics. I know, gentle reader, you love lists,...
On a measure of net lean to the Democrats or Republicans, North Carolina are one of only six states (along with Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Maine, and Colorado) to be within two points of the national median.
Even today, most North Carolinians do not live in large, dense cities. Most do not live in urban areas at all. These North Carolinians still vote. And they still matter — a lot.
For state offices and many county ones, spirited competition between Democrats and Republicans will continue for the foreseeable future. Alas, the same can’t be said for big-city elections.
