North Carolina

Elections aren’t immune from the human tendency to bend the rules and cheat.

Democrats look to Dan McCready to help them flip the House.

Plus, the Instaglam candidate strikes again.

North Carolina Republican Robert Pittenger was upended on Tuesday.

North Carolina Republican Robert Pittenger was upended on Tuesday.

Both Republicans and Democrats avoided elevating bad candidates in marquee races.

A spirited GOP primary in North Carolina.

There is an argument, based on both stats and results, that the 10 best programs in Division I men’s basketball the last half decade are Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Villanova, Virginia—and Wichita State.

Ben Carson’s new silverware. Ironically, Ben Carson might not get to enjoy his newly refurbished office at HUD for very long, if recent history is our guide. This from CNN:

Gastonia, N.C.

Gastonia, N.C.

The NCAA says it has not ruled out venues in North Carolina as possible sites for championship events between 2018 and 2022, after a letter from a local marketing agency addressed to lawmakers said all the Tar Heel state's bids to host post-season competitions in that time frame would be rejected…

Repeal of North Carolina's controversial House Bill 2, the so-called "bathroom bill," was expected to take place Wednesday with bipartisan support. But without consensus in the state legislature's last session, the repeal effort failed.

President-elect Donald Trump introduced his selection for Secretary of Defense, retired Marine general James Mattis, at his Tuesday night rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Mattis, known by his nickname of "Mad Dog", joined Trump briefly on stage.

North Carolina governor Pat McCrory conceded defeat Monday in his reelection battle against Democrat Roy Cooper, bringing a razor-thin contest that had been extended by a recount process to a close.

Wilmington, N.C.

Greenville, N.C.

The latest CNN/ORC polls, released Monday, show bad news for Republican Senate candidates in the battleground states of Nevada and North Carolina, following strong numbers in thoes states for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

An odd thing occurred in the world of sports recently: The Southern Conference (SoCon), an intercollegiate athletics league, decided to honor its commitments to North Carolina, refusing to pull four upcoming tournaments from the state. This, as other associations, both professional and amateur,…

The latest surveys of swing states in the election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton find the GOP candidate lagging in critical battlegrounds, with both nominees still sitting below 50 percent in expanded three- and four-candidate fields.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Mark Hemingway on the riots in the crucial battleground state of North Carolina.

The college town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, showed its true colors Tuesday. With Hillary Clinton set to roll into town the very next day, townies anxious to impress their preferred presidential candidate set aside Monday's Old Glory, replacing it on the town's street lamps with the rainbow…

Earlier tonight, the NCAA announced it was pulling seven different collegiate championship events out of North Carolina this year. The NCAA's actions were prompted by North Carolina's law that stops local governments from passing ordinances forcing businesses to allow biological men into women's…

Two recent Quinnipiac University polls have some good news for Senate Republicans.

A poll of likely voters in North Carolina taken mostly after Labor Day finds Donald Trump with a three-percentage point lead over Hillary Clinton, continuing a trend of surveys that reflect a tight race in the critical swing state.

Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump in the battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, and Colorado, according to four NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls released Friday.

Asheville, N.C.

Walter Jones of North Carolina is among the House members that Republicans are most eager to defeat. But there’s a twist in his case. Jones is a Republican. His critics have their reasons—plenty of good ones, as it turns out. Jones, 72, was a strong backer of the Iraq war until he had a sudden…

Walter Jones of North Carolina is among the House members that Republicans are most eager to defeat. But there’s a twist in his case. Jones is a Republican. His critics have their reasons—plenty of good ones, as it turns out. Jones, 72, was a strong backer of the Iraq war until he had a sudden…

The tragic slaying of three Muslim college students in North Carolina is dominating the headlines today. According to his Facebook page, the killer was a committed atheist and a political liberal. I think it's very rarely helpful or fair to connect political beliefs to the acts of possibly deranged…

The tragic slaying of three Muslims in North Carolina is understandably dominating the headlines this morning. According to his facebook page, the killer was a devout atheist and political liberal. I think it's very rarely helpful or fair to connect political beliefs to the acts of possibly…

Republican Thom Tillis is projected to win his close race for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, beating incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan. The Associated Press reports:

North Carolina senator Kay Hagan has a minute-long radio ad running Tuesday featuring her fellow Democrat, President Barack Obama.

The state of North Carolina is investigating a potential conflict of interest involving Democratic senator Kay Hagan. Fox 46 in Charlotte reports:

Early voting in North Carolina is now over, and the results are interesting. One might be tempted to compare early voting in 2014 to 2010, as both were midterms. But the latter was an easy win for Richard Burr, and this year’s battle in the Senate is shaping up to be a close race, much like 2012.

Republican Senate candidate Thom Tillis was called "Uncle Tom" at a recent Senator Kay Hagan rally in North Carolina. Hillary Clinton was also on hand to help rally Democrats in support of Hagan--and the possible presidential candidate specifically praised the speaker who made the questionable…

Senator Kay Hagan was interrupted by immigration activists during a recent campaign speech who said the North Carolina Democrat was "anti-immigrant."

Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan skipped tonight's debate in North Carolina. Here's video of the debate opening:

The U.S. Senate race in North Carolina calls to mind Henry Kissinger’s notion about the Iran-Iraq war: Could both sides actually lose? 

Democratic senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina was emphatic earlier this week that instituting a travel ban on those attempting to enter the United States from West African nations ravaged by the Ebola virus was "not going to help solve the problem." Hagan's Republican opponent, Thom Tillis, had…

A new ad from Republican Senate candidate Thom Tillis of North Carolina targets his Democratic opponent, Kay Hagan, for voting for the federal stimulus bill that awarded a grant to a company owned by Hagan's husband. Watch the video below:

North Carolina senator Kay Hagan said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is "giving us great guidance" on how to deal with Ebola virus infections here in the United States. The Democrat, who is up for reelection, praised the CDC and the World Health Organization in a Wednesday press…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with staff writer Michael Warren on the competitive purple state senate races in Iowa and Colorado, and the competitive races in traditionally red states like Georgia and North Carolina.

A company owned by the husband of Democratic senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina received taxpayer money for a green energy project through the federal stimulus of 2009, later revising down the project's estimated cost and keeping the difference.

A new set of polls from High Point University and SurveyUSA have good news Republican candidates for Senate in Colorado, North Carolina, and New Hampshire. The polls of likely voters in all three swing states found Republicans in good positions against incumbent Democrats with just weeks to go…

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is putting between $6 and 6.5 million into TV ads in North Carolina, Politico reports. The close race between Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan and GOP challenger Thom Tillis has come down to an air duel between the campaigns and their allied independent…

At Tuesday night's debate, Republican Senate candidate Thom Tillis of North Carolina asked his opponent, sitting Democrat Kay Hagan, which of President Obama's policies she regrets supporting. Hagan stumbled over her words for a few seconds before saying Tillis did not "understand her record" or…

Democratic senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina told reporters Tuesday evening that she did, in fact, not attend one hearing of the Senate Armed Services committee because she had participated in a Democratic fundraiser the same day. The Democrat was speaking to reporters following her debate with…

North Carolina senator Kay Hagan's position on abortion is the target of a new $620,000 TV ad campaign that is being launched today by the Women Speak Out PAC:

Don Carrington of Carolina Journal reports:

In recent days, Republicans appear to have opened up leads in several key Senate battles, including Alaska,Colorado, and Iowa. Add those to their already established edges in Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia -- and the GOP right now has the lead in about eight…

The Chamber of Commerce is releasing a new ad Tuesday featuring NASCAR racing legend and North Carolina native Richard Petty endorsing Republican Senate candidate Thom Tillis. "In racing and in life, there's always a leader, someone who  knows how to get to the finish line, who makes the tough…

One United States senator believes that the Obama administration “has not yet done enough to earn the lasting trust of our veterans and implement real and permanent reforms at the VA.”

Thom Tillis of North Carolina says the Senate needs "more people who had to sweat for a living" in a new TV ad. The 30-second ad features the Republican Senate candidate speaking directly to the camera inside a diner.

Republicans have distinct advantages in Senate races this year, including President Obama’s low job ratings, the number of vulnerable Democrats, and an unhappy national mood. But there’s another advantage: the generally high quality of their candidates. This wasn’t the case in 2010 and 2012, when…

The Republican drive to capture the Senate in the 2014 midterm election got a significant boost Tuesday in North Carolina with the victory of house speaker Thom Tillis in the GOP Senate primary.  Tillis will face Democratic senator Kay Hagan in the November election.

Thom Tillis is projected to win the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, defeating physician Greg Brannon and pastor Mark Harris in Tuesday's primary. The speaker of the state house, Tillis is projected to have won more than 45 percent of the vote, safely overcoming the 40…

Sarah Palin has endorsed Taylor Griffin in the Republican primary for North Carolina's 3rd congressional district. Griffin announced the endorsement on his campaign website:

With a week to go before the North Carolina Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Thom Tillis has broken 40 percent support, according to a new poll. Tillis, the state speaker of the house, has 46 percent support, with top rivals Greg Brannon and Mark Harris receiving 20 percent and 11 percent,…

Raleigh, N.C. 

Walter B. Jones, the longtime Republican congressman from North Carolina, is facing a tough primary challenge. Jones has made his anti-war stance central to his political identity, and Peter Hamby of CNN reports on how Jones is being challenged on his position on Iraq and Afghanistan:

The Arkansas Senate race has been close in virtually every serious poll. The Republican challenger, Tom Cotton, probably had a small lead a month or so ago; after a massive negative assault on him by Harry Reid's Super PAC, the Democratic incumbent, Mark Pryor, is probably now ahead by a point or…

Arkansas Democrat Mark Pryor has a 10-point lead in his race to retain his Senate seat, according to a new poll from the New York Times and the Kaiser Family Foundation. A two-term senator, Pryor has 46 percent support, while his challenger, Republican congressman Tom Cotton, has 36 percent…

Two hundred North Carolina teachers are getting their hours cut due to Obamacare, WITN reports:

The leading Republican candidate for Senate in North Carolina has a seven-point advantage over incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan, according to a new poll from Rassmussen Reports.

Democratic senator Kay Hagan refused to appear with President Obama during his trip today to her home state of North Carolina. But Obama went out of his way to "publicly" thank Hagan anyway:

President Obama’s approval ratings are down, the country’s wrong-track numbers are up, the most recent employment numbers came in (“unexpectedly”) as dismal.  And as Jennifer Epstein of Politico reports, the president is telling his Cabinet:

One of the leading Republican opponents to Democratic senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina has a new ad in which he promises to "clean up" the mess in Washington that she's "enabled."

A free-market group has launched television ads in three states whose Democratic senators are up for reelection this year, targeting those senators for their support for Obamacare.

Vice President Joe Biden and Democratic senator Kay Hagan attended a fundraiser today in North Carolina, where Hagan is up for reelection. But Biden and the senator did not bring up the Obama administration's signature achievement--Obamacare.

Senator Kay Hagan, a Democrat from North Carolina who is up for reelection in 2014, says she supports delaying the deadline for signing up for health insurance under Obamacare's individual mandate. Hagan, who voted for Obamacare back in 2010, also says the fine for not signing up for health…

Renee Ellmers, a sophomore Republican congresswoman from North Carolina, has criticized a conservative group's campaign to get congressional Republicans to support defunding Obamacare by way of the continuing budget resolution.

Republicans forged ahead in their effort to transform North Carolina into a reliably red state, with Gov. Pat McCrory and top legislature leaders agreeing Monday on a tax cut plan to boost economic growth and job creation.

Rep. Walter B. Jones of North Carolina occupies a strange place on the spectrum of American politics. An 18-year House veteran from the conservative coast, Jones is a pro-life former Democrat, raised Baptist but a Catholic convert. The 70-year-old Republican’s biggest claim to fame may have come in…

Mitt Romney is projected to win North Carolina, according to the Associated Press.

Paul Begala, an adviser to the pro-Obama super PAC, says that the Obama campaign has given up on North Carolina:

DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz explained to local reporters that President Barack Obama has not visited North Carolina more because we live in a "big country":

Last night, President Barack Obama's reelection campaign announced the winners of their latest contest, "Meet Two Presidents" (Obama and former President Bill Clinton). The winners? Two women, both from swing states. Their reason for supporting Obama's reelection effort? Obamacare.

One year ago today, North Carolina governor Bev Perdue suggested suspending national elections.

President Obama has released a new two-minute ad that will serve as a closing argument of sorts as early voters begin to go to the polls in several states.

The Campaign for Working Families, Gary Bauer's Super PAC, is launching a new ad today in North Carolina:

Earlier today, news broke that North Carolina congressman Larry Kissell is refusing to endorse President Obama and might not attend the Democratic convention later this year in Charlotte, N.C. And now, there's word that Rep. Hayden Rogers won't be endorsing Obama or even attending the convention. 

A new poll shows Mitt Romney has taken a significant lead in North Carolina, a state which Barack Obama won by just 12,000 votes in 2008. The Civitas Poll of 600 North Carolina adults shows Romney with 50 percent support, compared to Obama's 45 percent support. That's a big gain for Romney, who in…

Another North Carolina Democrat is refusing to support President Obama's reelection effort. This time it's Rep. Larry Kissell. 

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. The Democratic party would hold its 2012 nation convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of those battleground states that had gone blue in 2008, a rerun of which would go a long way to making Barrack Obama a two-term president.

President Obama's reelection problems continue in North Carolina, the state that's hosting this year's Democratic National Committee convention later this year. Congressman Mike McIntyre, a Democratic representative of North Carolina's Seventh Congressional District, is now refusing to endorse…

Mitt Romney leads Barack Obama by two points in North Carolina, according to a new poll by the Democratic-leaning firm PPP. Forty-eight percent of respondents support Romney, compared with 46 percent for Obama in a state the president won in 2008 by just over 12,000 votes.

In a report called, "Messina dismisses doubts about Obama chances of winning North Carolina," the Hill has this to say about Obama campaign manager Jim Messina: 

President Obama was never likely going to win in North Carolina without a big win nationally. Yet his campaign insisted on pretending so, going so far as to locate the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.  Now, on the heels of North Carolinians having handed a resounding victory to…

The U.S. is divided on gay marriage, as on many issues. But the gulf of the cultural divide on this particular issue is striking.

Yesterday’s overwhelming approval of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions by the voters of North Carolina underlines the growing likelihood that the issue will be a major factor in the 2012 presidential election. Consider the following circumstances:

A final poll from PPP shows that a referendum supporting a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions in North Carolina is on its way to a comfortable win today. According to the poll, 55 percent of voters support the amendment, and 39 percent oppose it. Here's more from the…

The latest Rasmussen poll of likely general election voters in the “core four” swing states of Florida, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina shows Rick Santorum leading President Obama by 4 percentage points (48 to 44 percent), while Mitt Romney trails Obama by 4 points (46 to 42 percent) — an…

The latest PPP polling in North Carolina, the swing-state where the Democrats are holding their 2012 convention, shows Rick Santorum faring slightly better than Mitt Romney versus President Obama. The poll shows Santorum and Obama tied at 46 percent apiece in a hypothetical general election…

Ethan Wingfield, a 26-year-old businessman from North Carolina, is considering a bid to run against congressman Heath Shuler, one of the last remaining so-called Blue Dog Democrats in the House of Representatives. Wingfield told Roll Call in an interview that he was "seriously exploring" running…

New York Times: "As Regulators Pressed Changes, Corzine Pushed Back, and Won"

Senator John McCain called President Barack Obama’s 3-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia “a campaign trip” and said it was “unfortunate” that U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill. 

RealClearPolitics captured video of President Barack Obama's speech in North Carolina today, where he said that the Republican plan for the economy is to have "dirtier air, dirtier water, less [sic] people with health insurance." Watch the video here.

The Romney campaign announced today that three North Carolina Republican congressmen have endorsed MItt Romney for president. Howard Coble, Virginia Foxx, and Patrick McHenry praised Romney for his business experience and economic know-how in prepared statements.

Well, I suppose we should give Governor Perdue credit for thinking outside the box:

President Barack Obama will tout his American Jobs Act at WestStar Precision, a small business run by a donor to the president's inaugural, in Apex, North Carolina on Wednesday, September 14. WestStar’s president, Ervin Portman, is a Democratic county commissioner for Wake County who donated $1,000…

Public Policy Polling's latest survey of North Carolina shows new lows for President Barack Obama. Forty-three percent of those polled approve of the president, while 53 percent disapprove. Obama won the Tar Heel State in 2008 by less than 15,000 votes, and while PPP says North Carolina is still in…

That was the explanation of Steven Hoag to ABC11-TV in Wilson, N.C. for how he remained preternaturally calm while narrating the approach of a tornado straight towards him.

Democratic congressman Bob Etheridge, who caused controversy for his physical engagement with a student this summer, will concede to Republican Renee Ellmers, the congressman-elect who won a surprising victory November 2. National Journal's Tim Sahd reports: