The WUNC Politics Podcast is a free-flowing discussion of what we're hearing in the back hallways of the General Assembly and on the campaign trail across North Carolina.
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The stakes in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race were already significant – with the winner potentially signaling which party could control the chamber in the next Congress. In recent days, the campaign narratives were upended as Republican incumbent Thom Tillis tested positive for COVID and Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham acknowledged sending sexual text messages to a woman that is not his wife.
This week: Donald Trump’s positive coronavirus test has upended the already unstable political landscape. With just more than a month until Election Day, it is unclear how the president going into quarantine will affect the key battleground of North Carolina. In their review of the week in state politics, Rob Schofield and Becki Gray react to the major news, reflect on the final debate for North Carolina's U.S. Senate race, and discuss whether the State Board of Elections went too far in changin...
This week: Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and his Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham had their first debate. The Democrat's answer to a hypothetical question about the COVID-19 vaccine caught some attention.
When Lanisha Jones went to vote in the 2016 election, she didn’t think she was doing anything wrong. She thought she was simply exercising her right to vote. But in 2019, the district attorney in Hoke County charged her with voting illegally because at the time she was still on probation from a felony conviction.
This week: A Washington Post story alleged Postmaster General Louis DeJoy cajoled GOP campaign donations from employees of the logistics business he ran in Greensboro.
As COVID-19 cases climb at many colleges and universities in North Carolina, schools are maintaining dashboards to track and present different data and terminology. But are the dashboards enough of a resource to keep students and faculty informed about the virus on their campus?
This week: State legislators gaveled in for a brief two-day session and don't intend to return until next year — that is, until after the elections are over. Their singular charge was to allocate North Carolina's remaining pandemic relief funds from the federal CARES Act.
As an investigative reporter for Carolina Public Press, Kate Martin has been persistently reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic in North Carolina for months. She’s determined to uncover the answers to questions others are not asking and hold officials accountable.
This week: American political history was made as Joe Biden introduced U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate in the presidential race. Her presence on the ticket might impact voter turnout in North Carolina. Then again, it might not.
Jim Hunt was first elected Governor of North Carolina in 1976 when he was just 39 years old. He served four terms in the Executive Mansion, spanning four different decades.
This week: Governor Cooper criticizes President Trump and Lt. Governor Forest over their pandemic responses. And close to 150,000 voters have requested absentee ballots for the November election. This week a federal judge ruled that a witness requirement will remain in place, however, voters will have a chance to correct administrative errors on their ballots. Becki Gray and Rob Schofield discuss Cooper's criticisms, the latest in mail-in balloting, as well as a troubling video released by the F...
This week: North Carolina played host to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Meanwhile, David Lewis, a powerful state legislator, will not be on the ballot, as previously expected. And with the State Fair canceled for the first time since the second World War, Becki Gray and Rob Schofield ponder whether college athletics can realistically take place this fall.
Anthony Jackson has been an educator for more than 30 years, but there's never been a school year that’s begun like this one.
This week in state politics: The effects of the pandemic continue to be felt in wide and various ways. From touchscreen voting machines to an annual bar exam, there are questions about risk and necessity.
This week in state politics: More remote learning became a reality this week when Gov. Roy Cooper announced North Carolina public schools will not return like normal next month as COVID-19 cases have been on the rise.
Aisha Dew first volunteered on a political campaign 30 years ago, when she was a young girl. In 2016, she was leading Bernie Sanders' campaign in North Carolina. Today, she works with Higher Heights, seeking to mobilize Black women and increase their participation – and representation – in politics.
This week in state politics: North Carolina lawmakers failed to override the governor's vetoes so that gyms and skating rinks that were shutdown because of the pandemic could reopen. But in court, a group of bowling alleys won their argument that they're no riskier than resturants operating at limited capacity.
This Week In State Politics: the Governor delayed a decision about whether public schools would open in the fall.
Democratic state Rep. Deb Butler made national headlines last September when, following a surprise and controversial veto override vote, she grabbed a microphone and lit into Republican House Speaker Tim Moore.
Another bustling week in North Carolina politics included the toppling of Confederate monuments in the state capitol and elsewhere, the governor's decision to mandate face coverings statewide because of the coronavirus, and an after-hours marathon session at the General Assembly.
North Carolina lawmakers this week approved a plan to provide teachers with a one-time bonus. Meanwhile temperature checks at the General Assembly building were halted — albeit briefly — as the capital city moved to require masks to curb COVID-19. And a group of lawyers sent a letter to the governor and legislative leaders arguing Confederate monuments violate the state constitution.
Journalist Paul Woolverton was covering the protests in Fayetteville the last Saturday in May when he was attacked. He suffered a concussion, and still doesn’t remember some of what transpired outside the Cross Creek Mall.
After weeks of unrest over police brutality and systemic racism, North Carolina lawmakers turned attention back to two pieces of legislation: One would ease expungement of criminal records, another would let judges avoid some sentencing mandates.
As protests took place across North Carolina and the nation, calling for justice after the killing of George Floyd, President Donald Trump called for a greater use of force.
How does a campaign fundraise during a pandemic? If the RNC departs from Charlotte, does that give anyone a political advantage? Will we see the customary election-year rallies this fall?
This week began with President Trump trying to lure Gov. Roy Cooper into a tussle on Twitter.
As restaurants, salons and pools reopen (partially) in North Carolina over the Memorial Day weekend, there are varying levels of worry about the coronavirus.
Among the political disputes playing out in North Carolina these days is how best to hold elections this November.
Several sheriffs across the state signaled this week they won't enforce North Carolina's ban on church services held indoors.
North Carolina is entering the first phase of reopening after the coronavirus-related shutdowns. Outdoor church services are OK now, shoppers can return to malls, and the gates on state parks are coming up.
