North Carolina, Explained

After decisive primary, it’s still a battleground, and the state likes it that way.

Trump Meets Christie: A Brash Buddy Movie

Whether the presidential race just got a lot more entertaining or frightening is the question.

In true “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” fashion, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorsed New York billionaire Donald Trump in the race to be the Republican nominee, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio must be sweating more than is his wont.

 

Trump Is Gladys Knight — Huckabee and Santorum, the Pips

After finishing first in the Iowa Republican caucuses in 2008 and 2012, respectively, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum were relegated to the undercard and mostly ignored pre-debate debate. Then the duo rushed (or perhaps hastily sauntered) to Donald Trump’s veterans’ event, one timed to clash with the main stage debate from which the front-runner was conspicuously absent because of his high-profile feud with Fox News.

So the leaders of yesteryear spent Thursday night at a Donald Trump veterans’ rally at Drake University — the Pips to Donald Trump’s Gladys Knight, background voices catching a bit of the spotlight but decidedly not the person the crowd and cameras had come to see. (Yes, in reality there were more than two Pips, but the fact that you had to think about it only proves the point.)

 

Is This What Political Diversity Looks Like?

n the 2008 presidential contest, a glance at the Democratic and Republican debate lineup was all it took to tell the story. On the Republican stage, there were recognizable faces – Mitt Romney, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani – mixed in with Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, etc.

But it still came down to a row of white guys in dark suits, white shirts and red or blue ties. You needed a visual crib sheet to stay organized.

 

The State of North Carolina after Midterms

CHARLOTTE, NC- It’s been one week since mid term elections wrapped up, but where does North Carolina stand now. Is the state red, blue or somewhere in the middle? Political Contributor Mary Curtis says even though the state voted Republican, it’s not necessarily red. Recent races have shown small margins of victory, pointing to problems like voter turnout. For Democrats to be successful in the future, she says the party needs to work on getting more voters to the polls, have a good slate of candidates and sell their message.

Mia Love is black, Mormon, Republican and blowing people’s minds

Mia Love is already getting more attention than most of her newly elected congressional colleagues. She is Haitian American, a woman, daughter of immigrants, Mormon, Republican and from Utah, all things that she seems eager to boast about, except when she isn’t, as those who contrasted her post-election speech with a subsequent CNN interview noted. But her own confusion about when to tout her history-making achievement and when to downplay it is more than matched with the contortions of others who are trying to figure her out.

 

NC Senate race, less than one week out

CHARLOTTE, NC- Political Contributor Mary Curtis stops by to break down Senator Kay Hagan and House Speaker Thom Tillis’ last push less than one week before the election. She explains why last minute endorsements from celebrites like John McCain, Lindsay Graham and Hillary Clinton are so important and how people really feel about those television ads.

Hillary Clinton — politician and grandmom — plays to Kay Hagan’s base in North Carolina

CHARLOTTE — Was it happy coincidence that Hillary Clinton’s granddaughter is called Charlotte? It certainly helped the former senator, former secretary of state, former first lady and perhaps future presidential candidate get the audience in the Charlotte Convention Center ballroom cheering with the line, “I can’t tell you how much we love the name.” Another grandmother, Kay Hagan, said, “What a name that was picked for her new grand-baby!” It was all to the point in a homey sort of way, framing the message of the day — family, women’s issues and equality and opportunity. During the wait before both took the stage, Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” set a no-nonsense mood.

Breaking Down the Third N.C. Senate Debate

Voters got a chance to hear from all three U.S. Senate candidates in Thursday’s debate in Wilmington. Libertarian Sean Haugh stood alongside major party candidates Thom Tillis and Kay Hagan.

WCCB political contributor Mary C. Curtis is helping us understand the tactics they brought used in the final debate.

Curtis says Haugh is consistent with Libertarian philosophy which is less government involvement.

Fact-Check the Political Ads in NC Senate Race


 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Senator Kay Hagan and Republican challenger Thom Tillis are ironing out key points of their argument ahead of their next debate Tuesday, October 6. The race is heating up with more political ads, but WCCB’s political contributor Mary C. Curtis says fact-check when you see them.