WUNC Politics

Since the coronavirus pandemic swept into North Carolina a couple of months ago, Dr. Mandy Cohen has become a familiar figure.

This week in state politics, lawmakers returned to the North Carolina General Assembly to deliberate how much of the available federal aid should be dolled out immediately.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced a couple of tough calls this week in the face of increasing frustration with social distancing restrictions.

As the Republican leader of the state Senate, Phil Berger is the most powerful man in North Carolina politics. For weeks, he's been pushing for random COVID-19 testing so the state can get a handle on the outbreak and reopen for business.

There were new calls this week for the reopening of business across North Carolina — there was even a protest in Raleigh against the governor's stay-at-home order.

Unemployment claims surpassed half a million, and various industries across North Carolina asked for help this week.

Republican Greg Murphy represents eastern North Carolina's 3rd District in the U.S. House. He's also a urologist, and the only doctor on Capitol Hill still seeing patients.

North Carolina is rounding out its first week under a statewide stay-at-home order.

Gov. Roy Cooper ordered North Carolinians to stay at home for thirty days starting 5 p.m. Monday, March 30. Healthcare providers worried about being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients cheered his decision. Businesses not necessarily.

It's been three weeks since Super Tuesday. Dozens of winners in federal, state, and local races were celebrating that night. But the vast majority of candidates who were on North Carolina's packed primary ballots lost.

As a global pandemic continues to spread throughout the country, a prominent North Carolina politician landed in the crosshairs on Thursday. Richard Burr, the senior U.S. Senator from North Carolina, gave a grim warning about the virus to a private audience, while striking a different message in public. Reporting this week also revealed he made 33 transactions, dumping as much as $1.7 million in s...

North Carolina's response to the coronavirus is changing every hour. Gov. Roy Cooper has strongly advised against gatherings of more than 100 people. And the courts will largely postpone hearings, beginning next week.

Presidential primary voters in North Carolina gave Joe Biden a decisive win on Super Tuesday after he'd been lagging in recent polls.

A two-for this week, recorded at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill in front of a live audience.

The insurance tycoon accused of trying to bribe the state insurance commissioner with $2 million in campaign donations went on trial this week.

Jim Blaine is an unapologetic and self-identified political hack. He is also one of the most respected political operatives in North Carolina. He was chief of staff to the Republican state senate leader before starting his own consulting company in 2018.

A judge this week reversed a settlement between the UNC System and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, making the fate of the mangled Silent Sam statue again uncertain.

Morgan Jackson has been a Democratic political tactician in North Carolina for more than 20 years. He is one of Gov. Roy Cooper's closest advisers.

Problems with the Iowa Caucuses dominate discussion about the Democratic presidential contest ahead of the New Hampshire primary. And in North Carolina, we get a look at the candidates' campaign finance reports.

U.S Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer purportedly imagined a Democrat would have to lock himself in a "windowless basement" and fundraise nonstop to beat incumbent GOP Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina. But, Cal Cunningham's campaign office has plenty of natural light.

While U.S. senators (and our airwaves) were occupied with an impeachment trial, former Vice President Joe Biden picked up a couple of endorsements from notable North Carolinians.

State Sen. Erica Smith says she's the progressive, credentialed, electable choice, even if the Democratic Party establishment isn't backing her campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Republican candidate for governor (and current lieutenant governor) Dan Forest claimed that Planned Parenthood was created to, "destroy the entire black race," during a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. Then on Wednesday he compared abortion to slavery.

WBTV reporter Nick Ochsner doesn't hesitate to confront a subject who he feels is ducking his questions. He has a reputation for being quick to file a lawsuit when it seems officials aren't following public records laws.

The North Carolina General Assembly convened for a single day this week. But no budget deal was brokered, and now we'll be without one at least until springtime.