WUNC Politics

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...

The state’s most conservative lawmakers have for years formed the House Freedom Caucus, and now there’s a similar caucus for legislators on the left. The House Progressive Caucus formed this year and has about a dozen members, as well as a political action committee that will be involved in legislative elections next year. Two caucus members, Reps. Marcia Morey of Durham and Pricey Harrison of Gre...

Can North Carolina’s troubled DMV finally turn the corner after years of long lines and finger-pointing about who or what’s to blame? Several months into his new job as DMV commissioner, Paul Tine says the agency is now making progress. Staff vacancies are being filled, and the legislature recently approved more staff positions and several new DMV offices. Tine spoke with WUNC's Colin Campbell aft...

North Carolina’s 2026 U.S. Senate race officially kicked off as former Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley have formally launched their campaigns for the seat where Sen. Thom Tillis isn’t seeking another term. To get a better sense of what we can expect from the campaign and the two leading candidates, WUNC's Colin Campbell sat down with two of the state’s to...

North Carolina’s ballot access laws create an uphill battle for third parties seeking to get their candidates on the ballot, requiring more than 14,000 registered voters to sign their petition for access. Five of those parties were on the ballot in last year’s election, and six have started the petition process for the 2026 election cycle. But only one party so far has made any serious progress to...

A wide-ranging healthcare bill that was recently signed into law would make it easier to get flu medications and make it easier for medical professionals to practice in North Carolina. It was among several noteworthy bills that made it across the finish line just before lawmakers left for their summer break. Because they were complicated and non-controversial, they got overshadowed by bills on hot...

House Democratic Leader Robert Reives says the legislature has been “getting nothing done” this year as it heads to a summer break. He faults Republican leaders for focusing on culture war issues instead of getting a budget agreement. Reives spoke with WUNC’s Colin Campbell about his assessment of this year’s legislative session, the likelihood that his party can sustain Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes,...

Since Republican Dave Boliek won last year’s election, the position of state auditor has been getting more powerful. He’s now responsible for appointing and overseeing the State Board of Elections, and lawmakers want to put him in charge of a sweeping government efficiency review. He’s also been auditing the Division of Motor Vehicles and hurricane recovery spending. Boliek spoke with Colin Campbe...

Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake, is the only lawmaker who’s been in office since the early 1980s, but the former House speaker is no longer serving as Senate minority leader after his fellow Democrats backed Sen. Sydney Batch for that role instead. But Blue says he’ll still have a key role in Senate action, and he's "freed up to play diplomat" on issues like healthcare, education and affordable housing. He...

Amid all the culture wars and controversies at North Carolina’s legislature, some legislation features Republicans and Democrats quietly working together. There are plenty of examples of bills developed by lawmakers from both parties working together, ultimately leading to unanimous votes with no debate. Rep. Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg, is one of the few Democrats who's sponsored bills that passed...

The N.C. House recently passed a bill to allow the state treasurer to invest state pension funds in cryptocurrency and other digital assets. Rep. Mike Schietzelt, the first-term Republican who made the case for the bill on the House floor, speaks with WUNC's Colin Campbell about the advantages of cryptocurrency investments and the risk concerns raised by opponents. Schietzelt also discussed his bi...

Earlier this month, former Congressman Wiley Nickel became the first Democrat to officially launch a campaign in North Carolina’s 2026 U.S. Senate race. He’s an attorney and former Barack Obama aide who represented Wake County in the state Senate before being elected to Congress in 2022 from one of the state’s only swing districts. He spoke with WUNC about how he plans to take on incumbent Republi...

For years, the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles has been plagued by long wait times and poor service. It’s a major problem in one of America’s fastest-growing states. And in the age of DOGE and government efficiency, it's generating talk of some dramatic solutions. This week, we're sharing an episode on the issue from one of WUNC's other podcasts, The Broadside. Featuring: Bradley Georg...

Budget season at the state legislature has officially kicked off with the release of Gov. Josh Stein’s budget recommendations. He’s calling on lawmakers to pause scheduled corporate and personal income tax cuts to avoid projected revenue shortfalls starting next year. He says those revenue drops will make it difficult to fund teacher raises and other major investments in state government, but Repu...

As North Carolina schools face staffing shortages, both Republicans and Democrats are pushing for bigger raises for starting teacher pay -- but the proposals could face tough odds in a tight budget year. Gov. Josh Stein’s proposal to increase starting teacher pay above $50,000 is similar to one filed recently by Republicans in the state House. Rep. Erin Paré, R-Wake and sponsor of that bill, was a...

It’s been more than 50 years since North Carolina used a racist, Jim Crow-era “literacy test” that was designed to prevent Black people from registering to vote. But that requirement remains in the state’s constitution, unenforced. Rep. Terry Brown, D-Mecklenburg, is making another attempt this year to get the language removed. He’ll have to persuade both the House and Senate to put the repeal on...

N.C. Sen. Benton Sawrey, R-Johnston, landed an influential role in his second term this session as co-chair of the Senate’s committees on healthcare. He joined WUNC's Colin Campbell to talk about efforts to address the unusually high costs of healthcare in North Carolina, including a recent bill to limit insurance coverage mandates and some other proposals in the works for later this year. Sawrey...

After a decade of being led by longtime Sen. Dan Blue, Democrats in the state Senate decided to elect a new leader this year. Sen. Sydney Batch became Senate minority leader last month. She’s a family law attorney who represents western Wake County since she was first elected to the House in 2018. Batch joined the WUNC Politics Podcast to talk about her approach to the leadership role, the potenti...

As state lawmakers debate how much money is needed for the latest Helene recovery package, Gov. Josh Stein’s administration is making the case for $1.07 billion to help western North Carolina rebuild. Matt Calabria, director of the newly created Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC), spoke with WUNC's Colin Campbell about Stein’s Helene funding proposal, the state of fede...

Raleigh-based Republican consultant Carter Wrenn has had a front-row seat to decades of political history. He’s worked for the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms and Ronald Reagan starting in the 1970s. He’s now written a book on his experience that offers an inside look at some key moments and controversial figures in politics. He spoke with WUNC's Colin Campbell about the book, “The Trail of the...