Triangle friends: come out tomorrow (April 21) to celebrate the publication of Bill Link's excellent new book on Jesse Helms at Flyleaf books.

John Drescher and I will be on a panel with Link discussing the book and Helms' legacy. Should be fun. Will be even more fun if you're there.

#ncpol

Elections Performance Index A nonpartisan, objective measure of U.S. election administration.

MIT's Election Performance index has been updated to include the 2024. Look up any state and see how it compares on a host of different measures of election performance.

elections.mit.edu?utm_source=s...

For an explanation, see: playingwithelectiondata.substack.com/p/the-electi...

Chuck Edwards' Q1 FEC report is out (through the end of March).

~785K total in receipts
~490K cash on hand

If you want to read through every expenditure (including $7.99 at the Sylva Zaxby's, have at it:

docquery.fec.gov/pdf/563/2026...

#nc11 #npol #avl #wncpol

There it is.

Come to think of it, Pee Dee Man might have to make a class appearance tomorrow.

Teaching about migration and population growth in southern politics tomorrow.

This one says more than 1000 academic articles ever could.

re-upping for the evening crowd.

#ncpol

Migration is changing #ncpol.

The graph below is the % of each voter registration cohort (1st time registrants) who are identified as a NC native in the NC voter file.

🛑Lots of missing data on this field, but the trend is still striking.

The Completely Avoidable Embarrassment of the Literacy Test in North Carolina's Constitution And Why We Should Use This Short Session to Do Something about it.

#ncpol

open.substack.com/pub/chriscoo...

“'The bones of this race are really difficult to overcome unless something drastic happens,' one North Carolina Republican strategist admitted to us."

@jessicataylor.bsky.social / @cookpolitical.com moved the #ncsen race from Toss-up to Lean Dem

#ncpol ⤵️

At this rate, I might make that plural seasons

If you’ve got even the smallest interest in professional cycling, tune into #ParisRoubaix

Republicans select replacement for late Rep. Clampitt The Republican parties of Jackson, Swain and Transylvania counties, during a joint meeting, selected a replacement for Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain), who passed away March 18 at age 71 following a prol...

. @coryvaillancourt.bsky.social reports that Anna Ferguson has been chosen to fill the NC-119 seat (Jackson, Swain, Transylvania) & will appear on the Nov '26 ballot

She will be the 1st woman & the first enrolled member of the EBCI in the #ncga House

#ncpol

smokymountainnews.com/news/item/41...

*errata: a smart reader/scroller pointed out that there have been 2, (not 1) women from Transylvania County.

Trudi Walend served in the #ncga House from from 1999-2009 & from 2012-2013.

What happens when a legislator dies during his term? Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain), who served in the state House for four terms, died on March 18. If there is a vacancy in the General Assembly the representative’s party from his district will make a rec...

For more on the background of the seat, the life & legacy of the previous occupant (Representative Mike Clampitt) and the appointment process, see this from @LillyKnoepp

nclocal.org/2026/03/23/w...

5/5

Worth noting:there has never been a woman in the #ncga House from Jackson or Swain County

There has been 1 woman from Transylvania County in the House. Thelma R. Fisher was appointed in 1955 when her husband resigned his seat

Fisher was the 1st female Republican in the NCGA
4/5

The meeting to decide who to appoint will take place April 11 at the Jackson County Courthouse.

Similar to the Democrats' appointment for an Orange County Senate seat last week, a comm. of GOP members from 3 counties (weighed by pop.) makes the decision.

(3/5)

Ferguson ran against the previous occupant, Mike Clampitt, in the '26 primary but lost.

Chapman is the current Vice-chair of the Transylvania County (& former chair).

Hedgepeth & McKim have not run for office previously.

2/5

GOP committee to choose Clampitt replacement By Dave Russell

The Sylva Herald is reporting that 4 people are vying to fill the #ncga district 119 seat (& appear on the November ballot): Anna Ferguson, Shira Hedgepeth and Molly McKim (all Jackson County), and Larry Chapman (Transylvania County)

(1/5) 🧵

www.thesylvaherald.com/top_stories/...

Raphael Lemkin’s definition:

The sky got the message—always look your best for Easter.

Very

Lindsey Graham is running an ad in the SC primary with the tag, "South Carolina Republicans deserve a Senator who says no to cocaine and yes to the truth."

Also notable, Pee Wee Herman makes an appearance.

Well-played

Remembering when I woke up on Easter Sunday to find a tape of Dire Straits Brothers in Arms in my Easter Basket.

Mid 1980s Easter Bunny slapped.

THREAD: Groups are starting to sue to block President Trump's executive order that calls for restricting voting by mail...

The End of the Berger Era What Phil Berger's Loss Means for North Carolina Politics

Curious why Phil Berger's primary loss is such a big deal?

⤵️

#ncpol #statepolitics

open.substack.com/pub/chriscoo...

Who Counts as American? Birthright Citizenship Meets a Divided North Carolina Public North Carolinians largely agree on democratic ideals—until the question turns to citizenship, where consensus begins to fracture along familiar lines.

With today's #SCOTUS oral arguments on birthright citizenship, where do North Carolinians stand on this democratic principle?

#ncpol

Some analysis at: ncpoliticscenter.substack.com/p/who-counts...

If I understand ⬇️ correctly, states would have to submit to the USPS a list of mail voters at least 60 days before an election.

Helene hit #wnc 39 days before the 2024 election. If this EO was law then, Helene victims would have had no way to request a mail ballot after they were displaced #ncpol

Also: This was the only case left from court's October sitting other than CALLAIS, the VRA case.

The only justice who hasn't written a decision from that sitting is Alito.

The court tries to distribute cases fairly evenly, so strong odds that Alito is writing for the majority in Callais.

Forgot about that! Bat signal partially received years before I sent it. Impressive, Markovich. Impressive.