Not so fast: ballot referenda bring lawmakers back to Raleigh

The polls are usually thought of as a place to vote for or against people, but this year in North Carolina, they will also be a place to vote for or against ideas — six of them, in fact; a spate of proposed additions and amendments to the state’s constitution will go before voters Nov. 6, after making it out of the General Assembly’s spring session with the required 60 percent level of support. 

‘Sore loser’ bill would block ballot access for some candidates

North Carolina Republicans were quick to congratulate the first minor political party to gain official recognition by the State Board of Elections, but they haven’t been quite as welcoming to the latest. 

State budget aims to deliver more for less

Even though the process by which legislative changes to North Carolina’s $23 billion 2018-19 budget were made — shutting out Democrats by limiting floor debate and skipping right to the yea-or-nay vote — that budget now sits on Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk.

Republicans vie for Macon commissioner seat

Macon County Commission Chairman Jim Tate will face fellow Republican challenger John Shearl in the May 8 Primary to claim the District 1 seat on the board. 

Haywood Commission primary could be first step to GOP majority

Three Democratic seats on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners are up for election this year, but only two of them are being defended by incumbents. 

Report: minorities, poor in N.C. blame Trump, Congress

A recent report published by nonprofit advocacy group Down Home North Carolina says that changing demographics and their accompanying shifts in political allegiance have forever altered the ideological character of rural North Carolina, and the subsequent Republican takeover of state government is hitting the working poor, people of color and the LGBTQ community hardest.

Jackson sheriff candidates vie for win in Republican primary

Jackson County Sheriff Chip Hall may be running unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary, but two Republican candidates are competing for the chance to challenge him in November. Doug Farmer, currently a detective for the Sylva Police Department, and Brent McMahan, a bailiff and patrol officer for the Swain County Sheriff’s Department, will face off during the May 8 Primary Election. 

Haywood GOP officer sues over mocking memes

Sticks and stones may break some bones, but according to a lawsuit filed by one local politico, the memes can sometimes hurt, too. 

Unseating Mark Meadows

Asheville Republican Congressman Mark Meadows’ extreme partisanship, attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and hypocritical fiscal responsibility make him a prime target for electoral defeat this year, according to three Western North Carolina Democrats who plan to challenge Meadows for his 11th District seat.

First, though, those candidates will square off against each other in a Democratic Primary Election for the right to face Meadows in November; others may yet come as well –- the filing period for candidates doesn’t end until Feb. 28.

GOP’s tribal loyalty will be its downfall

Many years from now, Americans are going to look back on the election of the 45th President Donald J. Trump with a mixture of fascination and horror. I think 2016 will be remembered as the year that the Democrats found a way to lose an election that nobody thought they could lose, and the Republicans nominated a man that nobody thought could win, a man who had only one point of intersection with the party — the celebration of centralized wealth.

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