The latest poll released by the liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling finds that Governor Pat McCrory’s approval ratings are back in the positives after Hurricane Matthew, but Democrats have gotten off to a hot start in early voting, with double-digit leads at the top of the ticket. PPP notes that it hadn’t found a positive view […]
Paul Blest
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The Morning Roundup: Fourscore and Several Sexual Assault Allegations Ago
Good morning. This is a little heavy on election stuff, but here’s what you missed over the weekend.1. Hillary Clinton rallied at St. Augustine’s in Raleigh yesterday. The Democratic nominee held a rally on St. Augustine’s quad on Sunday afternoon with the Mothers of the Movement, women whose sons and daughters have been killed by […]
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First Day of Early Voting: “The Bluest Areas in N.C. Are on GOTV Steroids”
Unofficial tallies from the first day indicate that early voting saw a jump in the Triangle yesterday, but overall, early voting throughout the state was down around 3 percent. Wake County counted 12,253 ballots by the end of the day yesterday, spread across nine sites; the top three sites were Herbert C. Young Community Center […]
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Five Memorable Quotes from Last Week’s Gubernatorial and Senate Debates
Let’s be real: the seemingly endless presidential debates this election cycle have been excruciating, from the time Donald Trump assured us that, um, all was well downstairs to whatever the hell we saw at last Sunday. So we can’t really blame you for skipping out on the minor-league contests. But there were two marginally important […]
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In Wake of Lawsuit, Charlotte Observer Gets McCrory’s HB 2 Emails
Last week, the Charlotte Observer filed a lawsuit against the McCrory administration after waiting six months for emails regarding HB 2. Yesterday, the administration finally complied with the request, releasing thousands of emails about the Charlotte ordinance, the special session, and the law’s immediate aftermath. The emails show the political pressure McCrory came under from […]
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The Morning Roundup: Hillsborough
Morning, everyone. Here’s what you missed over the weekend.1. Orange County GOP headquarters vandalized, burned in Hillsborough. From the N&O: The Orange County Republican Party headquarters was firebombed overnight Saturday and graffiti was spray-painted nearby in an attack that the GOP called “political terrorism.” A flaming bottle was thrown through a window of the office […]
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First Look: Deborah Ross Releases Scathing Ad Tying Richard Burr to Donald Trump
Capitalizing on, well, everything that’s happened in the past week, Democratic Senate candidate Deborah Ross released an ad today attacking her opponent, Senator Richard Burr, for still supporting Trump despite his comments about women. The ad features several clips of media figures talking about Burr maintaining his support of Trump, the last being a man […]
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Has Raleigh’s Bus System Been Left to Languish Because Many of Its Riders Are Poor and Black?
The Wake County transit plan—which has its primary funding source, a half-cent sales tax hike, on the ballot on November 8—promises to bring long-needed upgrades to the current bus system. But the activists who’ve spent years and decades fighting for these improvements are questioning why it’s taken so long. And, with relief finally on the […]
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Here Are Seven INDY Public Records Requests That the Governor’s Office Has Ignored
On April 5, shortly after HB 2 passed, The Charlotte Observer filed a public records request for emails sent or received by Governor McCrory or his staff that “included, but was not limited to, email exchanges with legislators, administration officials, companies, and Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina staff.” The paper never got those records; […]
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Excerpts from McCrory’s Campaign Event with Tony Perkins: The Gov Says He’s Not a Bigot, HB 2 Is Like Anchorman, and His Wife Is Being Ostracized
Yesterday, BuzzFeed reported that, on Friday, just before Hurricane Matthew touched down in North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory was campaigning with Family Research Council president Tony Perkins to gain the vote and support of anti-LGBTQ pastors across North Carolina. Even worse for McCrory: they had audio. A lot of the audio isn’t exactly surprising, as […]