Posts by Gary Pearce
Obama 48-Trump 41
Donald Trump’s head might explode if he sees this. When we drafted our poll, the four of us wondered what would happen in North Carolina if Trump got his wish and could run for a third term in 2028 – and if Barack Obama ran too. So, we asked this question (Q 20): “If the…
Read MoreEarth to Trump
The fatal flaw I saw in the first 45 minutes (my limit) of Trump’s State of the Union is that most North Carolinians don’t believe they’re living in a “Golden Age.” Yes, it’s a Golden Age for Trump, his family, the billionaires and the big corporations. Their profits are up, their taxes are down and…
Read MoreWhy Trump is Underwater
Most North Carolina voters have a negative view of Donald Trump just one year after he returned to the White House. “Despite winning the state narrowly three times, Donald Trump is underwater with a solid majority of voters in North Carolina,” writes Stephen Clermont of Change Research, who conducted our recent statewide poll. (Read more…
Read MoreTrump Falls, Cooper Leads, Stein is Strong
We’re all drowning in polls, but still thirsting for reliable data about North Carolina voters this crucial election year. So, four of us (see below) did our own poll – an in-depth online survey of 1,069 North Carolina voters about Trump, the 2026 and 2028 elections, and a broad range of issues. We found: Trump’s…
Read MoreGoosesteps
This man was face-to-face with evil, and what he saw echoes today. Richard Sonnenfeldt was a German Jew who escaped the Nazis, emigrated to the United States, fought in Patton’s Army and became, at age 22, chief American interpreter at the Nuremberg trials of top Nazis. Here’s what he wrote about them: “The mediocrity, the…
Read MoreOur Jesse
Senator Jesse Helms made Jesse Jackson a political target in the 1984 Senate race against Governor Jim Hunt. Helms won, but I’m proud to say I was on Jesse Jackson’s side. Helms’ campaign distributed a flyer headlined: “Helms-Reagan vs. Hunt-Jackson.” It had a photo of Governor Hunt meeting with Jackson. The caption read: “Jesse Jackson…
Read MoreWillie Horton, the Sequel
Republicans are running an old play against Roy Cooper – the “Willie Horton blitz.” The play worked when Lee Atwater, “Poppy” Bush’s hatchet-man, ran it against Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race. It didn’t work when Jim Gardner ran it against Governor Jim Hunt in 1992. I get why Republicans are doing it now:…
Read MoreDon Colossus
A recent poll I worked on – and will write more about later – exposed Donald Trump’s biggest negative. By 56-38%, 1,000-plus North Carolina voters said Trump is “focused primarily on himself,” rather than “people like you.” Trump’s manic and pathetic self-exaltation reinforces that belief every day. He slaps his name and face on everything:…
Read MoreTalking About Politics on WUNC
Carter Wrenn and I were on WUNC’s Due South this week talking about the decline of civil discourse – and how two adversaries became friends and blogging partners. You can listen here. We told how we met negotiating rules for the debates between Jim Hunt and Jesse Helms. “There was ice in the room,” Carter…
Read MoreGOP RIP
A reader who worked for years as a corporate lobbyist in Raleigh and Washington offers this take on today’s Republican Party: “I read that Trump will unblock funds for critical infrastructure improvements if the Senate minority leader will put Trump’s name on Penn Station and Dulles airport. Trump has said in the past that if…
Read More