North Carolina – Republicans – Page 10

Another Senate Whiff for NC Democrats

By Gary Pearce | 2022-12-01 |

Once again, Lucy (North Carolina voters) pulled the football (a Senate seat) away from Charlie Brown (Democrats). In the 50 years since 1972 – when the two-party era began in North Carolina and Jesse Helms won the first of five Senate elections – there have been 18 Senate elections. Democrats have won four and lost…

National Relief, But NC Disappointment

By Gary Pearce | 2022-11-20 |

The election left me feeling better about our country than I have for six years. But worse about North Carolina. 2022 showed that Americans are tired of the Trump Show, which has been running nonstop at full volume for seven and a half years since he rode down the golden escalator on June 16, 2015.…

The “Red Wave” Never Came Ashore

By Gary Pearce | 2022-11-10

There was no “red tsunami,” no wave. Barely a ripple. Before the 2022 election, Republicans boasted they would deliver a 1994- or 2010-like shellacking to a Democratic President. Inflation was up. President Biden’s approval ratings were down. Voters were down on the economy and down about the direction of the country. But Biden had the…

The Senate Primary

By Carter Wrenn | 2021-10-11

83% of voters – in a poll – said Taliban is a terrorist group and said Trump shouldn’t have negotiated with Taliban. To elect Ted Budd, in an ad Trump says Budd’s always supported him – here’s a question Budd is bound to be asked: Do you think Taliban’s a terrorist group? Was Trump wrong…

The Deadliest Fruit

By Carter Wrenn | 2021-07-21

Standing on stage at his rally in Ohio Trump bragged, ‘I won by a landslide’ – beside me, watching Trump’s video, my friend nodded. I leaned toward him. ‘Give me one fact that proves Trump won?’ He laughed. ‘Do I think the Democrats would steal an election…yes, in a minute.’ He didn’t need facts –…

The Result: Polarization

By Carter Wrenn | 2021-04-29 |

I clicked, up popped a long list of newspaper headlines on Twitter: Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans… Transgender athletes banned… Matt Gaetz accused of sex trafficking … Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Rep. David Cicilline, ‘Rep. Mussolini…’ Rep. Cicilline tells Greene ‘get lost…’ Biden stumbles three times… Trump rules the GOP… Howls rolled on. People cheered,…

A Backfire…

By Carter Wrenn | 2020-10-02

I woke up this morning, turned on the TV, and there was an ad from Mitch McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund basically calling Cal Cunningham a no good low-life scumbag – it was immediately followed by an ad for Cal Cunningham with Cunningham in it talking sweet and grinning, saying he disagreed with Thom Tillis about…

Is Tillis Losing the ‘Base?’

By Carter Wrenn | 2020-10-01

I got a call from a reporter who’d read a poll: Biden and Cal Cunningham each had 47% of the vote in North Carolina; Trump had 47% (tied with Biden) but Thom Tillis only had 40%, seven points behind Cunningham – the reporter asked, There’re a lot of people, a lot of Republicans, voting for…

A Bad Sign?

By Carter Wrenn | 2020-09-16

In a political campaign signs can tell you who’s up or who’s down: A tremor in a candidate’s voice, an evasive campaign manager, and polls (though these days a lot of polls are silly). When one campaign cuts back its media buys, as the other ramps up, that’s another sign. I read a story in…

Last Respects

By Carter Wrenn | 2020-09-15

Thirty-five years ago, the morning George Crile – a producer at 60 Minutes who later wrote the book Charlie Wilson’s War – called I thought, An interview with 60 Minutes – what’s the difference between that and sticking your head in a lion’s mouth? I said: ‘I reckon you know the chances of Tom Ellis…