State Democratic Chair Anderson Clayton clearly felt she needed to buck up morale.

She tweeted on Friday, “I understand folks feeling defeated by the news cycle this week. But hold on. Just hold on. As my fellow Democracy Defenders, the #TenneseeThree have said — this is going to ignite and awaken the people. And our job is to continue to mobilize, organize, and educate.”

“Feeling defeated”? To hell with that.

As James Carville says, “You ain’t beat ‘til you quit.”

Feeling defeated is an overreaction to one party-switcher.

Washington Republicans pushed the story hard to counter the bad news in Wisconsin, where a MAGA candidate lost a Supreme Court race by 11 points.

The media overplayed the story, and social media went into meltdown.

For all the hoopla, what changed?

House Democrats knew they had a possible switcher in the ranks. They and Governor Cooper have known the math since November.

As before, North Carolinians will see the extremist agenda this year – uncut and unexpurgated. The voters will render their verdict next year.

Count on this: politicians heady with power always overreach.

The history of progressive Democratic politics in North Carolina has been a series of setbacks and comebacks.

Frank Porter Graham lost in 1950, and Terry Sanford won in 1960. Jesse Helms won five elections, and Jim Hunt won five elections. Republicans won the House in 1994, and Democrats won it back in 1998. Pat McCrory won in 2012, and Cooper won in 2016 and 2020.

After one Democratic defeat years ago, a woman told Sanford, “Terry, I could just cry.”

“No,” he said. “We don’t cry. But we don’t forget. And we don’t quit.”