Democrats hope a Kamala Harris presidential campaign will reach the voters who helped flip North Carolina blue in 2008 but who have tended not to vote as much since then.
Young people and Black voters, particularly in rural areas, are at the top of the list of people who have low voter turnout rates but tend to lean left when they do vote. They’re widely credited with boosting Barack Obama to victory in 2008, when he became the only Democratic presidential candidate to have won North Carolina since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
When Harris, the vice president, is formally nominated to replace President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic Party ticket this month, she’ll become the party’s first Black nominee since Obama and the first Black woman to ever get the nod. Obama won the White House in 2008 with North Carolina and in 2012 without carrying the state.
Young voters were key to President Joe Biden’s election in 2020, and they prevented a red wave in 2022. They’re mobilizing again, this time for Kamala Harris.
The vice president held a rally in Atlanta earlier this week joined by rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo, catering towards the younger voters in the crowd. It’s not her only attempt to appeal to members of Gen Z. Last week, Harris gave a virtual address to the Voters of Tomorrow summit, also held in Atlanta.
“In this election, we know young voters will be key, and we know your vote cannot be taken for granted,” Harris said in the message. “It must be earned, and that is exactly what we will do.”
She spoke to hundreds of attendees at the event, uniting Gen Z organizers and activists from around the country. Voters of Tomorrow is a Gen Z-led organization engaging and representing young Americans in politics and government, with chapters in 20 states and volunteers in all 50.
Enthusiasm from young voters waned in recent months, particularly in the spring, with dozens of encampments appearing on college campuses starting with Columbia University in the early morning of April 17.
Harris, however, is turning it around. Voter registration and campaign contributions have skyrocketed since she entered the race.
Former President Donald Trump is attempting to divide the nation by falsely questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’ race, Gov. Roy Cooper said on Thursday.
“He’s [Trump] showing us who he is,” Cooper said during an interview with reporters following a reproductive freedom rally in Durham to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
Trump questioned Harris’ raced during an interview this week at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago.
Cooper said the attack on Harris — her father is Jamaican and her mother is an Indian — reminds him of the tactic Trump used against former president Barack Obama when he repeatedly questioned Obama’s citizenship and birthplace.
“This is what MAGA is about,” Cooper said. “I think it’s pretty clear that with young people across this country, with people of color, everybody who wants to have a diverse society where we can all work together for the better of our country, they need to support Kamala Harris this fall.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein brought in nearly $4 million from out-of-state contributions in the second quarter in his campaign for the North Carolina governor’s mansion.
That's 545% more than Republican opponent Mark Robinson's $620. This is according to campaign finance documents from the second fundraising period, which ended on June 30.
Out-of-state contributions made up 30% of all of Stein’s fundraising, while 60% of donors were from out of state, documents show. California, Florida and New Jersey were the states sending Stein the most support.
These calculations do not include the 12,935 aggregated individual contributions to Stein, donors which are not required to list their addresses or names as each gift is less than $50.
Attorneys for Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter to Attorney General Josh Stein’s campaign after they aired an ad focusing on the daycare formerly operated by Robinson.
The ad, “Unsafe,” details state citations of Precious Beginnings, a Greensboro daycare, from 2006 and 2007. Robinson’s attorneys alleged in a letter that the ad “includes a series of misleading statements, visuals that distort the truth, and false assertions regarding the content of state records.”
“This letter puts Josh Stein and his campaign on notice that this advertisement contains false and defamatory information,” attorneys Charles Spies and Benjamin Mehr wrote. “Both Josh Stein personally and his campaign will bear liability if the advertisement continues to air.”
Stein’s campaign is standing by the ad.
“The ad is factually accurate, based on publicly available information, and, to date, the Robinson campaign has yet to provide any new factual information to refute the ad’s claims,” Stein’s campaign manager Jeff Allen said in a statement. “Mark Robinson may want to hide his record from North Carolina voters, but the voters deserve to know it.”
CANTON, OHIO — Julius Peppers. A first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.
The former Southern Nash and North Carolina star was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday, becoming member number 377, and the first player drafted by the Carolina Panthers to be enshrined.
"All right, let's do this" Peppers said as he settled in for his speech.
A speech that lasted just about 15 minutes and was a message of gratitude.
"So many people have helped me get to this stage in my family and in my football life and I want to make sure all of you please know that I'm grateful," Peppers said.
Selected by the Carolina Panthers as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, the Wilson native embarked on a 17-year pro career, accumulating three All-Pro selections and nine Pro Bowl appearances. In addition to spending 10 years with the Panthers, he starred for the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers before retiring at the end of the 2018 season.
With a recent study revealing North Carolina as one of the states with the riskiest roads to travel, some may wonder how safe the roads are here in the Cape Fear region.
A recent study by the site analyzed factors including annual miles driven per 100,000 system miles, percentage of rough roads and fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers. States were given a rating out of 10 points, with 10 being the most dangerous.
For a more localized perspective, the North Carolina Department of Transportation releases annual traffic crash facts data. The most recent 2022 report includes a ranking of counties based on several factors, including reported crashes, crash severity, crash rates based on population, registered vehicles and estimated vehicle miles traveled.
Forecast data suggests up to 6 inches of rain through the end of the week for North Carolina. Updated 9:18 a.m. Today
Tropical storm Debby is moving across the Gulf of Mexico with much of North Carolina is in its path. Model plots show the system impacting Florida Monday morning and North Carolina throughout much of the upcoming week.
- Storm track: Tropical Storm Debby is currently moving northwest at 13 mph and is expected to make landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on Monday.
- Strength: The storm is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the Florida coast. Currently the storm packs sustained winds of 60 mph.
- NC impacts: Plenty of rain from the North Carolina coast inland to the Piedmont. 3 to 6 inches could fall through the end of the week. Any rain could lead to flooding and trees rooted in already-saturated ground could fall with tropical storm winds.
The storms path and controlling winds have it stalling along the southeast coast, and where that happens will determine how much rain we see, according to WRAL meteorologist Chris Michaels. Most forecast data suggests 3 to 6 inches of rain for the Triangle from Tuesday evening through Saturday.
Thanks again, wishing you a safe week.
