Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Nail-biter
In both of the last two Presidential elections, North Carolina was one of the two closest states. Here we go again. The Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll shows Clinton up 2 here, Ross and Burr tied and Cooper up 3. The final New York Times Upshot/Siena College poll for North Carolina showed Clinton and Trump…
The Great Turnout Freakout
Back in the olden days, there was just Election Day. None of this Early Vote stuff. Every Election Day, in every campaign I worked in, first thing in the morning, The Great Turnout Freakout would hit. The calls would start early: “Turnout is incredible! It’s higher than ever here! We’ve never seen longer lines!” “Our…
We all hate yard signs
Republicans and Democrats agree on something! There is a bipartisan consensus that yard signs are a waste of campaigns’ time and money. And an eyesore. I’ve never had more response to a blog than to my yard-sign rant. Jack Cozort, former State Court of Appeals Judge, wrote: “When I ran, I wanted enough yard signs…
Eight days a week
Take a deep breath. It will be over in eight days. And it will be a long week. It’s fitting that the longest, meanest and ugliest election in history comes on the latest date possible, November 8. Just to prolong our agony. Now the future of the republic rests with the fickle five percent or so…
The Last Eight Days
Back in June, Gary wrote about an odd phenomenon: How, in the Presidential election, the candidate who dominated – who received the most press – dropped in the polls. It was as if voters thought, I dislike them both but the one I dislike most is the one I see most. Watching the Sunday morning…
Just Fade Away?
Down in an office building in San Antonio there’re over a hundred Internet gnomes working day and night to elect Donald Trump; until now they’ve been flying below the radar screen but the other day they opened their doors and invited Bloomberg News inside and the result was a story that sent a tremor rolling…
I hate yard signs
Most any political pro worth his or her salt will agree: Nothing in a campaign consumes more time, energy and discussion – to less avail – than yard signs. Candidates obsess about them. So do their families. And their strongest supporters. But no voter in the history of our democracy has ever seen a sign…
Sic transit gloria mundi
That’s Latin for “Thus passes the glory of the world” – or, “Worldly things are fleeting.” But they’re not fleeting on roads and highways around the Triangle. There are just too many damn cars on the road. So Wake County is voting on a 10-year Wake Transit Plan that will: Triple bus service Start a…
Adventures on CSPAN
You meet the most interesting people on CSPAN call-in shows. I did a 45-minute turn on Monday’s Washington Journal. We had callers from California, West Virginia, Oklahoma and exotic locales like Cary, Chapel Hill and Monroe. Now, I’m used to media interviews. The questions are usually about ads, polls, strategy and predictions. Not here. The…