North Carolina – Republicans
Irony or Hypocrisy?
An African-American minister proclaimed that a gay person should not be a judge. He also joined Rep. Skip Stam-and apparently 27 other House Republicans-in proclaiming that magistrates, who are officers of the court, should not have to carry out laws and court decisions they don’t like. Forty years ago, several magistrates in North Carolina…
Read MoreAsleep at the Switch
As bleak as Governor McCrory’s job approval numbers were in the WRAL poll, that wasn’t the worst news. Consider how Republicans, Democrats and Independents feel about the General Assembly. Republican Voters Approve 35% Disapprove 38% Conservative Voters Approve 33% Disapprove 37% Independent Voters Approve…
Read MoreVoter App
The Republican effort to suppress votes at Appalachian State University may have backfired. More than 700 people voted yesterday at the Student Union polling place that the State Board of Elections tried to shut down. Now we know why the board didn’t want it. An App student said, “It sends a clear message…
Read MoreDisapproving of Pat
36% Approve 46% Disapprove The WRAL Poll painted a bleak picture of a Governor caught between a rock and a hard place. As Mark Binker wrote, only a little over a third of the voters approve of the job Governor McCrory is doing. But worse news lurked beneath the surface. …
Read MoreBeneath the Headlines
Headline (two weeks ago): Thom Tillis on Life Support. Campaign Dying. Headline (this week): Tillis Makes Miraculous Recovery. Campaign Surging. Now, as a storyline, that’s just about unbeatable. It’s like Lazarus rising from the dead. The problem is two months ago, two weeks ago, and today (in WRAL’s latest poll), Thom Tillis…
Read MoreAn Empty Chair
I watched the ‘empty chair’ debate too (see Gary’s blog below). And it brought back old memories. Of old foibles. Years ago, in 1980, when John East ran against Robert Morgan he challenged Senator Morgan to a debate. And challenged Morgan to debate. And challenged Morgan to debate. And Morgan said No,…
Read MoreThom Warner Cable?
Time Warner Cable News made more news than it intended with the “empty chair” debate. One media critic said TWC “orchestrated a phony scandal and boosted Thom Tillis’s North Carolina Senate campaign by placing an empty chair for his opponent, Democratic Senator Kay Hagan, at an event it billed as a ‘debate’ — though…
Read MoreInside the War Rooms
In the state where President Obama had his closest win in 2008 and his closest loss in 2012, why wouldn’t the U.S. Senate race be tight as a tick? Carter has posted a great series of blogs about the race (although he’s wrong on the education issue). My other favorite blogger, Thomas Mills, weighed…
Read MoreThe Senate Race – 5
You have to give Kay Hagan credit: A year ago the Swing Voters were ready to roll down the track and vote her out of office – and for a year Hagan kept those voters out of Thom Tillis’ camp. The one big change in the Senate race – Tillis’ rising unpopularity with Independents…
Read MoreThe Senate Race – 4
After Hagan’s first round of attacks calling Tillis a Tea Partier, a few Swing Voters decided to vote for Hagan, a few decided to vote for Tillis, but most stayed Undecided. Ambivalently Undecided. They didn’t want to vote for Obama-Hagan. But they didn’t want to vote for Tillis either. The bad news for Tillis…
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