WUNC Politics

The legislature largely wrapped up its 2026 short session this week with the arrival -- and quick passage -- of the long-delayed state budget bill. We’re sharing our This Week in State Politics segment, where WUNC News' Dave DeWitt and Colin Campbell are joined by NC Newsroom's  Adam Wagner to discuss what's in the budget, and why it got support from many Democrats. You can hear the segment – and...

The long delays in the state budget process are hurting teacher retention in rural districts like Halifax County, and it’s just one of the many funding challenges these districts are facing amid uncertain funding. To better understand how the funding challenges are playing out in rural schools, WUNC News' Colin Campbell took a trip to Halifax County – about 80 miles northeast of Raleigh and seemin...

With a growing population and skyrocketing construction costs, the N.C. Department of Transportation needs more help to build and improve roads and infrastructure across the state. If you’re driving around a high-growth area of the state, there’s a decent chance you might be stuck in traffic – and those daily bottlenecks are only getting worse. The Department of Transportation knows exactly where...

Legislative leaders recently announced state employee raises as part of an initial budget agreement, but how much workers will receive will vary greatly depending on what they do for state government. The State Employees Association of North Carolina, better known as SEANC, says the 3% raise for most state employees is "not going to cut it" amid inflation and higher healthcare premiums. And while...

A group of high school and college students want state lawmakers to crack down on the loosely regulated sales of vaping products. They're pushing for action on a bipartisan bill filed last year to regulate retailers that sell tobacco and vape products and ban sales to people under age 21. The legislation has been parked for months in the Rules committees without a hearing. The Tobacco 21 Coalition...

Senate leader Phil Berger lost his primary in March to Rockingham County sheriff Sam Page by just 23 votes. When the margin is that close, every factor that influenced at least 23 voters could be considered the deciding element in the race. Berger’s support for a controversial casino wasn't the only aspect of Berger’s legislative record that faced criticism during the primary. Sheila Mikhail, a pr...

Duke Energy says it needs to increase your power bill, and the fate of that request will soon be decided by a commission that recently changed to a Republican majority. The N.C. Utilities Commission has been holding a series of public hearings about Duke Energy’s plan to increase residential rates by up to 18 percent over the next two years.  Duke says the rate increase is needed to keep up with h...

North Carolina’s prison system is struggling with hundreds of vacant positions as the starting pay remains stuck around $18 an hour. Correctional officers are leaving in droves for better pay elsewhere. There’s not enough money to pay the bills for basic operations. And the state’s 55 prison facilities have more than a billion dollars in deferred maintenance needs, from air conditioning systems to...

Williamston accountant and minister Patricia Smith pulled off an upset in this month’s primary over a six-term incumbent known for crossing party lines. Rep. Shelly Willingham, D-Edgecombe, was one of three moderate Democrats who helped give House Republicans what they call a “working supermajority” and lost their primaries. Willingham had survived previous attempts to unseat him in a primary, and...

North Carolina's primary brought rebukes to incumbent legislators in both parties, including a razor-thin margin in the closely watched GOP primary challenge to Senate leader Phil Berger. Why did voters reject some longtime leaders in state politics? Why did Berger's home county turn against him in favor of Sheriff Sam Page? And what's next in the vote-counting process and this year's legislative...

The 2026 North Carolina primary is almost here, and so for this week’s episode, we’re taking a closer look at four of the biggest races on the ballot, from the U.S. Senate to a legislative primary with major stakes. WUNC News Supervising Editor for Politics Dave DeWitt discusses the dynamics of each race -- from outside ad spending to endorsements -- with Capital Bureau Chief Colin Campbell and NC...

This is the sixth and final episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing. Soil contamination from long-ago trash incinerators has prompted Durham to close five of its parks for the past two years, and they’re still not close to a final solution to the issue. Soil testing i...

This is the fifth episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing. About 20 beach houses have recently collapsed into the ocean in Buxton on the Outer Banks. Local leaders there say the cause isn't just climate change or sea-level rise. They blame a deteriorating jetty instal...

This is the fourth episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing. A few years ago, the Coharie Indian Tribe launched an effort to clean out debris from the Great Coharie River near their headquarters in Sampson County. That led to a unique recreation and tourism initiative...

This is the third episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing. The floodwaters of Helene in 2024 washed away much of the spa and resort for which the town of Hot Springs is named, along with many homes and businesses. But the small town north of Asheville has rebounded ov...

This is the second episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing. For more than two years, Williamston’s local hospital has sat empty. The closure of Martin General Hospital has meant much longer ambulance rides and big concerns about the state of healthcare in this rural c...

This is the first episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing. For the past 65 years, Saint Andrews University has been a major economic engine for the small town in Scotland County. That all changed on May 5, when the university shut down for good after years of financia...

The North Carolina Chamber serves as the voice for businesses large and small in this state, and when it endorses or opposes legislation, state lawmakers from both parties take notice. To get an update on the NC Chamber’s advocacy efforts in 2025 and what’s ahead in 2026, WUNC's Colin Campbell visited the group's office to speak with president and CEO Gary Salamido.  Salamido also weighed in on th...

Gov. Josh Stein is wrapping up his first year in office. It’s been a year marked by hurricane recovery efforts in Western North Carolina and fights with the legislature over taxes, Medicaid and more in Raleigh. He joined WUNC's Colin Campbell to discuss the big issues of 2025 and what’s ahead next year, from the primary to property taxes

The 2026 campaign season has officially kicked off (although many campaigns have been going for months now) with the start of candidate filing.  With the primary less than three months away, we're digging into the races worth watching, from Congress to legislature to the Wake County district attorney. Two political reporters, Adam Wagner of the NC Newsroom and Dawn Vaughan of The News & Observ...

Local news is a tough business these days, with journalists routinely laid off and small-town newspapers closing up shop. But North Carolina’s journalism scene does have success stories.  WUNC's Colin Campbell spoke with the leaders of two locally owned media companies that are seeing growth. David Woronoff owns The Pilot, a thriving newspaper in Southern Pines, and magazines including Business No...

At age 88, former Gov. Jim Hunt continues to be a prominent figure in state politics, but the state’s growth means that many North Carolinians weren’t around during his record 16 years in office. So to better understand what he accomplished and what lessons his political career offers for today’s landscape in state politics, WUNC's Colin Campbell spoke with longtime Hunt aide and biographer Gary P...

North Carolina no longer has any particularly competitive Congressional districts, thanks to the new map passed this week at President Donald Trump’s request. To get a better sense for how the new districts will play out in the courts and in next year’s midterm landscape, WUNC's Colin Campbell spoke with Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper. Cooper says odds aren't favorabl...

The 33-member N.C. House Freedom Caucus notched some major policy victories this year, defeating a proposal from Senate leaders to ban shrimp trawling while getting a gun-rights bill to the governor’s desk. WUNC's Colin Campbell spoke with the Freedom Caucus’ chairman, Rep. Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort, to find out how the legislative process unfolded. Kidwell also weighed in on the ongoing budget st...

North Carolina’s Medicaid system is grappling with funding shortfalls, both from the state budget and from the Congressional megabill. The state Department of Health and Human Services says it will reduce provider reimbursement rates and cut coverage for popular weight-loss drugs if state lawmakers don’t approve additional funding. And beyond that issue, more funding will be needed in the future t...