Well, folks, we have collectively survived the 2026 Democratic and Republican primaries, and love them or loathe them, we now have our candidates for this year’s mid-term elections.
Brace yourself.
North Carolina, once a longtime Democratic state that ceded control to Republican legislators in 2010, is now a brilliant shade of purple at the statewide level. And with an open US Senate seat and the clout that comes with it up for grabs, North Carolina is one of only two states with open Senate seats and is rated a toss-up by political observers. We are sitting on Ground Zero in a hot political war.
The party nominees are very different people.
Roy Cooper, the Democratic nominee, is a former legislator, a 4-term Attorney General, and 2-time Governor who has never lost an election. Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee, is a Trump-endorsed party operative who has never held any elective office in any area of government. The great leveler here may be Trump’s endorsement, which relieves his MAGA supporters from having to assess the candidates for themselves.
We voters, as well as those among us who choose not to exercise that civic responsibility, are already feeling the effects of this contest, still 8 months away. Talking heads are going at it, and paid advertising has begun on both traditional media and in social media posts. Stuffed mailboxes are only a matter of time.
While the US Senate race is clearly North Carolina’s marquee contest for 2026, other offices are up for grabs as well and have profound consequences for local communities and our state.
Legislators and those who serve in local positions make decisions that affect all of us daily and that are generally less partisan than decisions made in the US Senate. School funding, for example, should not be a partisan issue, although it has become that in recent years as the General Assembly has siphoned public money away from public schools into private institutions. I care about that. Environmental issues, including PFASs, commonly called “forever chemicals,” found in the Cape Fear River and nearby ground waters, affect hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians, and it matters how state and local governments deal with the problem. I care about that as well, along with other critical issues that will be addressed, or not, by elected officials closer to home than a U.S. senator.
As we go through the coming months, which might feel like years, leading to Nov. 3, pay attention to messages from candidates for the US Senate to legislators to local offices. Do you think they are presenting the truth both about themselves and about their political opponents? Do you think their messages are fair, or are they cleverly misleading? Is that person thinking for himself/herself, or is he/she following the directives of others? Based on their records, can they be trusted?
Pundits reliably assert that “this election” is the most important ever, and while there is no Presidential contest in 2026, this election is indeed important for both North Carolina and the United States. It will help determine the direction of the U.S. Senate and whether the NC General Assembly continues channeling public money to private, often religious, schools.
The choices we voters make in 2026 will prove yet again that elections do have consequences.