News
Draft NC map shifts districts creating new political battlegrounds
The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on Monday, with the Senate's standing Committee on Elections expected to vote on the proposed map at 10am.
Opinion
Reality check: NC’s map is not partisan gerrymander; it’s geography
In a moment when both major political parties are continuing to pour millions of dollars into lawfare to redraw state maps, NC shouldn’t become a scapegoat in their national partisan arms race.
News
BBQ Politics? How North Carolina’s sauce divide mirrors its voting behavior
In both barbecue sauce and politics, North Carolina’s “split personality” is rooted in centuries-old settlement patterns and evolving demographics. Barbecue here is a source of pride, and, like taste preferences nationally, voters in the Tar Heel State — or, shall we say, the Sauce State — are divided.
Opinion
Down-ballot races show modest shift
Now that the counting of ballots is more-or-less complete, let’s take another look back at the results of the 2024 elections — with a particular emphasis on contests closer to the bottom than the top of the ballot. Why look at down-ballot races? Well, I admit to a longstanding annoyance with conflating the election of...
Opinion
Democrats fail to understand political geography, continuing to march further to the left
With only six weeks till North Carolina’s primary election, legislative and congressional candidates have been working on getting as much attention to their campaign as possible to represent their party this November. While not being North Carolina’s toss-up congressional districts, few races have gotten as much attention as North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. Much of...
Opinion
Suburban voters form largest bloc
Most suburban voters in North Carolina continue to favor the GOP. If they didn’t, the party would not be able to compete with Democrats.
Opinion
A redistricting picture worth more than most words written about it
Most commentators seem to ignore the new N.C. congressional map's actual features when they debate its merits.
Opinion
Gerrymandering, baseball back in the headlines this week
Recent debates about N.C. election districts remind one observer of the scandal surrounding slugger Barry Bonds.
Opinion
Democratic challenge isn’t just districts
Unless state lawmakers or redistricting commissioners gerrymander the maps in a different sense, Democrats can’t count on new districts handing them control of Congress or the General Assembly.
Opinion
Regions Cast Different Votes
If Republican Thom Tillis were running for the U.S. Senate from the state of North Piedmont, he’d be clearly favored to defeat incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan.
Opinion
A Political Patchwork Quilt
The county-level typology does help to explain some political events, such as why Hillary Clinton won Ohio and is favored in Pennsylvania despite Barack Obama’s easy win in Wisconsin.
Opinion
Keep Your Eye on the Southerners
The Sunbelt supremacy will eventually give way to something else. But it’s just possible than one or both of the Southerners will get their parties’ nods, keeping the string alive for one more election cycle.
