Dark money 501(c)4 groups might be playing an even bigger role in legislative races this year, perhaps spending more than political party organizations, PACs and the campaigns themselves.

Democrats are crying foul over a series of Photoshopped campaign mailers targeting incumbent legislators in highly competitive districts.

Wilson County leans left, but not by much. So it’s no surprise that several legislative races in this area are considered competitive.

I recently got to serve as moderator for one of the “N.C. Trusted Elections Tour” events in Albemarle.

House District 62 is one of the most competitive legislative districts in Guilford County, but it’s one where the incumbent Republican has weathered challenging campaigns before.

Outside ad spending continues to pour into North Carolina, much of it coming from Republican-aligned groups backing U.S. Rep. Ted Budd for Senate and Bo Hines in the state’s most competitive congressional race.

WRAL reporter Bryan Anderson published a fascinating, highly detailed profile of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson over the weekend.

Emerson College Polling has a new survey out on the U.S. Senate race, and it’s got Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Budd with a slight lead over Democrat Cheri Beasley that remains within the poll’s margin of error. It shows a tighter race than the pollsters’ last survey back in May.

Senate District 24 is one of only four “toss-up” Senate districts under the new maps, according to ratings by the conservative John Locke Foundation. But despite that, the race has gotten relatively little attention compared to other competitive contests.

One of the Triangle’s most competitive N.C. Senate races is getting negative. This week, District 18 Democratic candidate Mary Wills Bode launched a new TV ad attacking the business record of her Republican opponent, E.C. Sykes. The district includes northern Wake and Granville counties.

There will be a U.S. Senate debate after all this year – but likely only one.

The N.C. Democratic Party is criticizing U.S. Rep. Ted Budd for attending an event in Rockingham County named for former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

The name “North Carolinians for Personal Freedom” sounds like it might be a conservative advocacy group. But that’s not who’s behind new TV and online ads encouraging supporters of abortion rights to vote in state elections this year.

District 9 is the most competitive legislative district in the Greenville area, as first-term Rep. Brian Farkas seeks to defend the seat he flipped from the GOP in 2020.

District 17 is one of the only competitive Senate districts in increasingly blue Wake County, and it’s a key seat for Republicans to flip in order to get a supermajority.