News
Sweeping election bill stalls after backlash
A sweeping NC election bill stalled after backlash over post-election audits, voter challenges, overseas voting rules, and process concerns.
Opinion
Sanford, Faircloth, Dole: Biden isn’t first on NC ballot to face age, health scrutiny
As President Biden faces mounting questions about his ability to lead and govern due to his age and declining health, historic North Carolina US Senate campaigns across three decades show the perils and pitfalls these issues present at the moment and throughout history. 1992 It was my first election as a voter — November 1992. I...
News
Lauch Faircloth dies at 95
Former US Sen. Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina died Thursday at home in Clinton, North Carolina. A former Democrat-turned-Republican, Faircloth was a prominent figure in Tar Heel politics for more than half a century. “Senator Lauch Faircloth was a dedicated public servant and statesman who was the embodiment of Sampson County values,” said Sen. Thom...
Opinion
Workfare still superior to welfare
In Washington, Republican lawmakers are insisting that any deal with the Biden administration to raise the federal debt ceiling be accompanied by stricter work requirements for such programs as cash welfare, nutrition assistance, and Medicaid. In Raleigh, Republican state senators tried to make work requirements a condition for expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act,...
Opinion
State politics snaps back toward normal
This year’s U.S. Senate race in North Carolina is shaping up to be a highly competitive and expensive one — which should surprise no one who’s lived in our state or watched our politics for more than an instant. The John Locke Foundation’s just-released Civitas Poll has the Republican nominee, U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, and...
Opinion
Few Senators served in House
Only one person whose highest previous office was U.S. House has ever won elected to the U.S. Senate from North Carolina.
News
Tucker team cites major gains on Tillis in new poll
Republican U.S. Senate challenger Garland Tucker has made double-digit gains on incumbent Thom Tillis, according to new polling data from the Tucker camp. Tucker’s team is presenting the data in a series of private presentations to Republican donors. Two months after officially announcing his challenge of the first-term incumbent, Tucker trails Tillis, 40% to 30%,...
Opinion
Candidates go their own way
Since North Carolina politics became truly competitive, Democrats have tended to outperform their presidential nominees while Republicans have tended to underperform theirs.
Opinion
Party Disunity Can Be Fatal
In 1984, Sen. Jesse Helms believed a bitter Republican primary for governor would hurt his party’s prospects up and down the ballot, very much including his own.
Opinion
Critical Year in NC Politics
As I shoved the head and shoulders of the short fan man out the sixth-floor window of the Sir Walter Hotel, my associate Jay Allen urged restraint.
News
Report Chides N.C. Lawmakers’ Voting Record on Trade
GREENSBORO — A recent Heritage Foundation report says North Carolina’s congressional delegation “seems to be rejecting” the state’s “long and honorable record of support for open markets,” much to the detriment of the many thousands of constituents who owe their jobs to free trade.
News
Key State and Federal Primaries to Watch in 2012
RALEIGH — By the close of the filing deadline in late February, 75 candidates had filed for congressional office, 54 candidates for executive-level office, and 413 for legislative office. Forty-four seats in the legislature, two executive-level posts, and three seats in Congress are without an incumbent.
