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Elections

Senate battles in Durham and elsewhere

Over in the Senate, the just-concluded filing period set up 11 Republican and six Democratic primaries. Obviously, the most high-profile of these remains the District 26 battle between Republicans Phil Berger and Sam Page. A Page win would shatter the Senate GOP caucus leadership team that Berger’s headed since 2005....

By Ray Gronberg

December 22, 2025

Cohn forgoes re-election bid, sets up battle for Granville-Vance House seat

Filing is complete, and with it, so is the primary picture on both sides of the aisle. For the House, there are 29 GOP primaries coming up in March and 16 Democratic primaries. Three districts are seeing contested primaries in both parties, notably District 32, where incumbent Rep. Bryan Cohn,...

By Ray Gronberg

December 22, 2025

Cooper backs stock-trading ban for Congress

Former Gov. Roy Cooper says he’d support legislation that would ban members of Congress and “top executive branch officials” from owning or trading individual stocks. He pledged that he “won’t own or trade any individual stocks” as a candidate for the U.S. Senate or if he’s elected to the office....

By Ray Gronberg

December 17, 2025

Pollster: Page up 10 points on Berger

A Massachusetts-based pollster says its latest check on the Phil Berger-Sam Page GOP primary in Rockingham and Guilford counties shows Page holding a 9.6-point lead on the longtime Senate leader. That’s down from the 18-point advantage the same firm, Opinion Diagnostics, reported for Page back in the spring. But the...

By Ray Gronberg

December 17, 2025

Winslow: Done after three terms

State Rep. Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin, isn’t going to run for re-election to the District 7 seat representing Franklin and southern Vance counties. Winslow, a custom-home builder and East Carolina grad, said he’s passing up a potential fourth term so he can “focus on my family and my future endeavors as...

By Ray Gronberg

December 16, 2025

Berger picked up Trump’s endorsement; Page unfazed

State Senate Phil Berger on Wednesday picked up an endorsement he very possibly needed if he’s to come back for a 14th term: President Donald Trump’s. Trump took to Truth Social at 7:40 p.m. to endorse Berger’s District 26 re-election bid, which first has to overcome a GOP primary challenge...

By Ray Gronberg

December 12, 2025

Tillis: Done with elective office

Just in case leaving the U.S. Senate at the end of his current term isn’t definitive enough, Sen. Thom Tillis had a few more words to say Monday about his political future. Namely, that he’s done with offices that require a place on the ballot. “By finished, I do mean...

By Ray Gronberg

December 9, 2025

The House primary list lengthens

Two Democrats who’ve sometimes been part of House Speaker Destin Hall’s “working supermajority” face party primaries in the spring. Charlotte minister Rodney Sadler is running against District 106 incumbent Rep. Carla Cunningham, while Williamston resident Patricia Smith has signed up to oppose District 23 incumbent Shelly Willingham. Both incumbents have joined Republicans at times...

By Ray Gronberg

December 8, 2025

GOP Senate primary slate shapes up

Phil Berger and Sam Page aren’t going to have the only hot Republican primary for a state Senate seat in March. Former state Rep. Kevin Crutchfield, R-Cabarrus, is getting back into elective politics via a challenge to incumbent District 34 Sen. Chris Measmer, R-Cabarrus. Measmer is in his eighth month of service...

By Ray Gronberg

December 8, 2025

Warren stepping at end of 8th term; seeks court clerk office in Rowan

State Rep. Harry Warren, R-Rowan, is calling time on his legislative career after 2026 but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s ending his political career. Instead of seeking re-election, Warren has filed to run for clerk of court in Rowan County, setting up a primary with incumbent Todd Wyrick. The District...

By Ray Gronberg

December 5, 2025

Primaries on tap in N.C. House races

Filing for the 2026 election opened on Monday and we’re already starting to see some primaries shape up. These are headlined, of course, by the Republican-side Phil Berger-Sam Page tilt for the state Senate District 26 seat representing Rockingham and rural Guilford counties. As of this writing (just before 5...

By Ray Gronberg

December 2, 2025

Moffitt: Not endorsing in Johnson-Hager primary

Sen. Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson, wants one and all to understand that he’s staying neutral in the upcoming GOP primary between Rep. Jake Johnson, R-Polk, and former House Majority Leader Mike Hager, R-Rutherford. “Trust is essential to my ability to craft complex, bipartisan legislation. Nothing undermines it more quickly than the...

By Ray Gronberg

December 1, 2025

Johnson, Hager gear up for primary battle

Come spring, the eyes of North Carolina’s political community are going to be locked on Rockingham and Guilford County to see how Senate leader Phil Berger fares against GOP primary challenger Sam Page. But it’s looking like there’s another primary in western North Carolina that will command attention. No, we...

By Ray Gronberg

November 24, 2025

The GOP board in 2026

With the publication of the Locke Foundation’s annual Civitas Partisan Index in conjunction with last week’s national- and local-election results, tongues are already wagging about what they might portend for the 2027-28 General Assembly. So far, the view among Republican analysts is that Democrats might pick off a few GOP...

By Welcome

November 11, 2025

GOP loses ground in Charlotte

There is a partisan element to some of these outcomes, even if on the ballot they were nonpartisan races. Perkins, Matheny, Waddell and Robinson are Republicans who lost to Democrats. In Charlotte, where candidates for city office run on party labels, the only Republican winner City Council incumbent Ed Driggs, who...

By Ray Gronberg

November 6, 2025

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