Republicans are people, too
Nothing shows the insularity of the Republican Party more than their hilarious attempts to reach beyond their narrow constituency of older white people. They rely on shallow stereotypes which tells us more about the GOP than the groups they are trying attract. The...
About that chair…
Everybody on social media is all atwitter about Kay Hagan “skipping” the last debate. Tillis supporters can’t stop tweeting “Hagan is hiding” and other such nonsense. Even Rachel Maddow blasted Hagan for missing the debate. First, let’s clarify. Hagan didn’t skip the...
Walmart Moms and the Koch brothers
After almost $100 million in ads running for a solid year, recent polls show about 5% of North Carolina voters are still undecided. Who the hell are these people? Well, on Monday night I got a glimpse of some. Watching a Walmart Moms focus group gave insight into how...
Return to normal
Two weeks ago, Kay Hagan had a bad week. The polls reflected it. After maintaining a small but consistent lead for about six weeks, Tillis seemed to be closing the gap. It appears now, though, that the momentum was a blip instead of a shift. Despite ISIS and Ebola,...
Disjointed attacks
This week, the attack on Kay Hagan is that her husband’s company benefitted from stimulus funds. It’s not much of a hit. The New & Observer and WRAL both looked into the allegations and found that Hagan did nothing wrong or unethical. In fact, the GOP controlled...
Evidence of the Democratic ground game
Dr. Michael Bitzer has been providing outstanding analysis of North Carolina’s mail-in absentee ballots. The results give the best hint at each campaign’s ground organization. If the race remains as close as it is today, those field operations might determine the...
NC Senate: State of the race
We’re now in the final three weeks of the election. It’s time to take a brief look at the state of the US Senate race in North Carolina. Kay Hagan has held a small but sustainable lead since mid-August. Last week, though, movement shifted toward Thom Tillis. A couple...
What a mess
It’s becoming increasingly clear that Thom Tillis and the Republicans have made a mess of North Carolina. They promised that slashing taxing and cutting services would jump start our economy and lead to a “Carolina Comeback.” But things aren’t getting better. They are...
A blip or a shift?
It seems Thom Tillis got a reprieve. The National Republican Senatorial Committee decided to invest in North Carolina after all. The good polling numbers Tillis so desperately needed showed up following debate week. The shifts weren’t big, but they were enough to keep...
Marriage equality and midterms
A lot of pundits and political types are wondering how gay marriages in North Carolina will affect the US Senate race. The short answer? They won’t. Like Obamacare, gay marriage has lost its luster for those folks in the middle who swing elections. For the same reason...
