NC Capitol Wrap

A Helene aid bill contained little money for disaster relief but lots of unrelated provisions stripping power from Democrats who won election to key offices including incoming Governor Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson. One of the biggest is the latest in the GOP's nearly decade-long fight to sieze control of the State Board of Elections, which keeps being thwarted by courts and voters. Republican lawmakers this week also vote to override Roy Cooper's veto of a bill to force sheriffs to work with ICE and that also spends billions of dollars more on private school tuition vouchers over the next several years. Plus, why CNN is now asking for Mark Robinson's defamation lawsuit to be thrown out.

Nearly the entire country voted more pro-Trump in the 2024 elections compared to 2020, but only one other state had a smaller rightward shift than North Carolina. Republicans are celebrating that win and their continued dominance of the state's judicial elections. But Democrats see a silver lining in the fact that the state didn't trend as far right as other states, which was part of the reason why Democrats won half the Council of State offices including governor, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction with Josh Stein, Jeff Jackson and Mo Green. And did Hurricane Helene cost Republicans their supermajority in the state legislature? Democrats and Republicans alike say it might have. A closer look at the Asheville-area Democrat who won a heavily pro-Trump district.

The final round of polls from WRAL News and SurveyUSA released in this final week of early voting, as more than half of all voters have now already cast a ballot, breaking the record set in 2020 for early voting. The polls show an evenly tied presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in North Carolina, and both candidates plan to return to the Tar Heel State this weekend for the final push in the 2024 election. Other races, such as for Attorney General and the NC-01 US House seat, appear to also be coming down to the wire. The governor's race between Josh Stein and Mark Robinson shows a large lead for Stein. Reporters Will Doran and Paul Specht break down the poll results and the key races to watch in North Carolina that are flying under the radar, like for control of the state legislature. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

As influential Republicans in the most pro-Trump wings of the party suggest a Kamala Harris victory in North Carolina will be illegitimate due to potential voting difficulties in western North Carolina. But state elections officials say voter turnout in Helene-hit counties is actually higher than the state average so far. And in a North Carolina campaign stop, Trump running mate JD Vance doesn't agree, telling WRAL the most important thing is just making sure everyone can vote. We look into what state elections officials, and the state legislature, are doing to make that happen. The legislature also passed hundreds of millions in new Helene funding. But it was billions less than Gov. Roy Cooper suggested. So what got left out? What did they agree on? And what's next? The full breakdown and more.

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is suing CNN for defamation. Multiple lawyers, including the man who won $1.4 billion from Alex Jones and InfoWars, spoke with WRAL about the lawsuit's chances of success and what more we can expect from legal procedings before the election. Meanwhile, NC voters set a new record for the first day of early voting even amid new efforts to spread misinformation about elections and Hurricane Helene. Some Democratic members of Congress think Russia and China may be behind some of the misinformation; Republican Party officials were also dinged by a federal judge for their own claims about election integrity, which underpinned a lawsuit he said could harm democracy in North Carolina. We catch up on the news surrounding the attorney general race and Michele Morrow's campaign for superintendent of schools, plus former Gov. Pat McCrory's new voter-trust initiative.

NC lawmakers came back to Raleigh this week to pass the first round of relief funding for Helene. The bill, signed into law Thursday, also extends flexibility to boards of election in the 25 counties included under the federal disaster declaration. Meantime, political tempers are rising over misinformation about the state and federal response to the storm and about the security of the upcoming election.

It's been just over a week since CNN reported on comments North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson allegedly made on pornographic website Nude Africa praising Hitler, calling himself a "Black NAZI" and using slurs to talk about Martin Luther King Jr., among other topics. Donald Trump's campaign has since tried to distance itself from the Republican candidate for governor Trump endorsed and has heaped praise upon, and other GOP politicians have called on Robinson to do more to prove his claims that the report is false and the message board comments weren't actually his. Democrats from Josh Stein to Kamala Harris, meanwhile, have ramped up their efforts to tie Robinson to Republican candidates up and down the ballot as the GOP seeks to keep its legislative supermajority. New polling shows some voters are changing their minds, but perhaps not as many as Democrats would like to see.

State lawmakers finally pass a massive school voucher expansion bill, plus new WRAL News poll numbers show a tight presidential race but a widening contest for governor in NC. Also, what are undocumented immigrants actually costing North Carolina taxpayers? 

The NC Board of Elections looks into Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC, while a liberal nonprofit accuses a conservative counterpart of bankrolling a powerful state lawmaker. Plus, the money's rolling in from the first quarter of sports betting in NC , while the state treasurer is sounding the alarm about the fiscal future of the state health plan. 

Joe Biden is out, Kamala Harris is in, and North Carolina's Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is among the top vice presidential candidates for the Harris 2024 campaign. WRAL's state politics team explains the benefits he could bring to the ticket, but also how Republicans might try to use it against Harris. Plus, we cover the lawsuits targeting the NC State Board of Elections over recent decisions to deny Cornel West and approve Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's wife is under scrutiny, after her government-funded nonprofit was ordered to repay $132,000 by state investigators.

There's major turnover in state government with the resignation or retirement of multiple state lawmakers, chiefs of staff and university chancellors. Josh Stein and Mark Robinson are obliterating campaign fundraising records as voters key in on the race to replace Gov. Roy Cooper....who's now at the center of veepstakes rumors. If President Joe Biden shutters his reelection campaign and turns the reins over to Vice President Kamala Harris, could Cooper become her VP pick? That's what lots of political insiders think, and we explain why it could make sense. Meanwhile, following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, polls show Americans have steadily become more willing to accept violence to achieve their political goals. Why it's a problem that can't just be fixed by politicians telling their supporters to tone it down.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke in Greensboro and had high praise for Gov. Roy Cooper, who has been rumored as a potential VP pick if Harris takes over the presidential nomination. We asked Cooper, who said he still supports Joe Biden for president. Meanwhile the State Board of Elections approved the Constitution Party to be on the ballot but not Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Cornel West. Republicans cried foul, but the board does plan to take a vote on West and Kennedy next week. In the race to replace Cooper as governor, Democrat Josh Stein posted a massive new fundraising haul. Republican Mark Robinson has yet to release his own fundraising information. Robinson also called reporters shameful for trying to ask him questions this week, after he made headlines for charged comments and a fundraiser he held with a controversial church.

WRAL's Laura Leslie and Brian Murphy recap a very busy week on Jones St. with the battle over medical marijuana reignited and the House and Senate filing dueling budgets. Plus, a last-minute attempt to regulate vaping products and Cooper's veto of the mask ban. 

North Carolina state lawmakers begin working to outlaw tianeptine, a drug marketed as a mood enhancer or diet supplement that critics call gas station heroin. Predatory roofers and towing companies may face stricter state scrutiny soon, and a bill to force polluters to pay for cleaning up PFAS chemicals from local drinking water supplies also gets a warm reception in the state House. The state budget is on thin ice, with the House and Senate engaging in a rare public fight over how, or whether, to spend a $1 billion surplus that could be used on state worker raises, child care aid or nothing at all. Plus the elections are heating up, with legal fights over gerrymandering and Democrats continuing to focus on abortion, birth control and IVF.

Could North Carolina ban birth control if Mark Robinson is elected governor? Robinson says no, but Josh Stein says there’s a reason why Robinson recently spoke at an even hosted by an anti-birth-control group. Plus the latest on the state legislature’s proposal on continuing to allow people to wear masks for health reasons, the legal fight over control of the State Board of Elections, the political fight over a suspected Native American burial ground, and what’s going on with Cornel West's and RFK Jr.’s attempts to get on the ballot for president.

Eric and Lara Trump are speaking at the annual NCGOP convention, where North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is also speaking as Donald Trump looks for a vice presidential running mate. In the legislature, a war of words between Republican leaders on state budget talks and a proposal to undo the law allowing people to wear masks for health reasons. The UNC System BOG votes to repeal DEI policies. Gov. Roy Cooper issues a noteworthy veto as he heads out the door for a European business recruiting trip. And a new state constitutional amendment would say that only citizens can vote, which the constitution already says.

A proposal to ban masks in North Carolina moves ahead, as does a bill outlawing the use of AI to produce deepfake or child porn. Meantime, no video gambling bill has surfaced after weeks in session. Will it? WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran break it down. 

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran look at Tuesday's statewide runoffs and this year's "April surprise," which isn't good news. Plus lawmakers say campus protests are the inspiration for bills defining antisemitism and banning masks. 

President Joe Biden visited North Carolina twice this week, and rumors are flying about a trip state lawmakers and lobbyists took to Kentucky. As protesters opposed to Israel's bombing of Gaza replaced the American flag at UNC with a Palestinian flag, state lawmakers are praising interim Chancellor Lee Roberts and pushing a new law to crack down on statements critical of Jews or the Israeli government. State lawmakers also passed bills forcing sheriffs to work with ICE agents and to spend an extra $500 million annually on private school tuition vouchers. And the legislature continues taking a look a college athletics, from sports betting changes to a proposal to force UNC and N.C. State to play smaller UNC System schools in football and basketball.

Medical marijuana, immigration, gambling updates and a $1 billion state budget surplus could come to dominate the new 2024 North Carolina legislative short session. Plus, Senate leader Phil Berger talks about the future of the ACC and what lawmakers could do to keep UNC and N.C. State together if one tries to leave. PolitiFact NC looks into the 13th District congressional runoff primary, and the NC State Health Plan makes national news with a Senate investigation led by Bernie Sanders.

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie wraps up the week on Jones Street, including an investigation into the nonprofit led by the wife of the lieutenant governor. Plus, good news for budget writers, and a look at the state’s take for the first month of sports betting.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits with Gov. Roy Cooper in Raleigh, and two members of North Carolina congressional delegation travel to Ukraine for meetings with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The North Carolina Supreme Court keeps busy with cases on charter schools, voter fraud and alleged racism in local government. Plus the latest updates from EPA Secretary Michael Regan's trip to Fayetteville to talk PFAS, and what NC House Speaker Tim Moore had to say about budget priorities as the legislature prepares to return to session.

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran discuss a surge in teacher turnover in North Carolina public schools, and the end of coverage of weight-loss drugs by the State Health Plan. Plus, diversity, equity and inclusion in the UNC system could be in lawmakers' crosshairs this session. 

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran talk about the terror watchlist suspect whose North Carolina arrest could turn into a referendum on immigration policy, plus the growing national attention on comments made by 2024 candidates Mark Robinson and Michele Morrow. They also discuss updates on the recount and election protests still delaying official results in a closely contested state legislative race.

Donald Trump leads Joe Biden in North Carolina their potential 2024 rematch for president, a new WRAL News poll found. But Republicans don't have the same lead in the race for governor, pitting Democratic nominee for governor Josh Stein against Republican nominee Mark Robinson. In a close primary for a state legislative seat, the Democratic incumbent who appears to have lost is now alleging political shenanigans and "irregularities" may be cause for further investigation. Michele Morrow is making national headlines. And while some of the closest primaries are going to runoffs to pick a winner, one won't: Trump hired Mark Walker to work on his presidential campaign, so that he'd drop his opportunity for a runoff against Trump-endorsed candidate Addison McDowell.