WUNC Politics

The 2026 North Carolina primary is almost here, and so for this week’s episode, we’re taking a closer look at four of the biggest races on the ballot, from the U.S. Senate to a legislative primary with major stakes. WUNC News Supervising Editor for Politics Dave DeWitt discusses the dynamics of each race -- from outside ad spending to endorsements -- with Capital Bureau Chief Colin Campbell and NC Newsroom Editor Adam Wagner.

This is the sixth and final episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing.Soil contamination from long-ago trash incinerators has prompted Durham to close five of its parks for the past two years, and they’re still not close to a final solution to the issue.Soil testing in 2024 found potential lead contamination in the parks, and the city closed off playgrounds, athletic fields and other amenities to do additional testing and come up with a clean-up plan. Two of the five parks are in East Durham, where it can be difficult to find parks and public spaces that are open for young people. WUNC News visited East Durham and spoke with Durham Parks and Recreation Director Wade Walcutt about what's next.

This is the fifth episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing.About 20 beach houses have recently collapsed into the ocean in Buxton on the Outer Banks. Local leaders there say the cause isn't just climate change or sea-level rise. They blame a deteriorating jetty installed by the U.S. Navy decades ago to protect a Cold War submarine monitoring station. Local and federal officials have responded to the rapid erosion by promising beach renourishment and jetty repairs, but those projects might not be a long-term solution for one of North Carolina's most fragile beach communities. To learn more about Buxton's beach erosion problems and what comes next, WUNC News' Colin Campbell visited the community and spoke with Buxton Civic Association President Heather Jennette and Vice President Brian Harris.

This is the fourth episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing.A few years ago, the Coharie Indian Tribe launched an effort to clean out debris from the Great Coharie River near their headquarters in Sampson County. That led to a unique recreation and tourism initiative where members of the Coharie Tribe lead visitors on guided kayaking trips down the river. WUNC News' Colin Campbell recently hopped in a kayak to learn more about how the program brings tourists to Sampson County, while creating revenue, jobs and a heightened public profile for the 3,000-member American Indian group. Tribal Administrator Greg Jacobs and Coharie River director Philip Bell also discussed the tribe's history, programs and its hopes to eventually join the Lumbee Indians in obtaining federal recognition.

This is the third episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing.The floodwaters of Helene in 2024 washed away much of the spa and resort for which the town of Hot Springs is named, along with many homes and businesses. But the small town north of Asheville has rebounded over the past year, rebuilding shops and houses with private donations and volunteer labor. Leaders there say help from the state and federal government has been slow to arrive, and they're hoping to restore the outdoor-oriented tourism economy that will sustain the reopened businesses.WUNC News visited Hot Springs and spoke with Madison County Manager Rod Honeycutt and Rebuild Hot Springs President TJ Phillips.

This is the second episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing.For more than two years, Williamston’s local hospital has sat empty. The closure of Martin General Hospital has meant much longer ambulance rides and big concerns about the state of healthcare in this rural county. But local leaders are hopeful the building could reopen soon as a smaller facility known as a rural emergency hospital -- if the state legislature approves funding for a proposal by ECU Health. To hear more about the plan, and how the hospital closure has affected Martin County's broader economy, WUNC News visited Williamston and spoke with Martin County Manager Drew Batts.

This is the first episode in a new season of our Main Street NC series. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they're facing.For the past 65 years, Saint Andrews University has been a major economic engine for the small town in Scotland County. That all changed on May 5, when the university shut down for good after years of financial challenges. County leaders have been working to draw industry and development to multiple sites, and they hope the St. Andrew’s campus can be one of them. To hear more about what's next for the site and Laurinburg's efforts to reduce unemployment, WUNC News spoke with Chris English, executive director of the Laurinburg-Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce; Jeff McKay, director of the Scotland County Economic Development Corporation; and Walker McCoy, community development director.

The North Carolina Chamber serves as the voice for businesses large and small in this state, and when it endorses or opposes legislation, state lawmakers from both parties take notice. To get an update on the NC Chamber’s advocacy efforts in 2025 and what’s ahead in 2026, WUNC's Colin Campbell visited the group's office to speak with president and CEO Gary Salamido. Salamido also weighed in on the ongoing battle between House and Senate Republicans over scheduled income tax cut triggers and the broader budget stalemate, and provided an update on the Chamber's new program to help small businesses access affordable employee health insurance.

Gov.Josh Stein is wrapping up his first year in office. It’s been a year marked by hurricane recovery efforts in Western North Carolina and fights with the legislature over taxes, Medicaid and more in Raleigh. He joined WUNC's Colin Campbell to discuss the big issues of 2025 and what’s ahead next year, from the primary to property taxes

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 & Observer, join WUNC's Colin Campbell for the conversation. 

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 North Carolina and Walter. Kyle Villemain started The Assembly in 2021, and it’s since grown to a staff of 43 people producing in-depth stories on all things North Carolina. They discussed the business models that can work to support journalism and how they're approaching underserved communities.

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 Pearce. Pearce says Hunt's powers of persuasion helped him expand the influence of the governor's office and improve the state's education system.

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 favorable for Democrats to pull off an upset victory in any of the GOP-leaning districts.

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 stalemate, the Freedom Caucus' role in next year's legislative elections, and his work on the new House Select Committee on Government Efficiency.

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 to handle new Medicaid work requirements that were part of President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill. That bill also includes potential cuts to the program known as food stamps. WUNC's Colin Campbell sorts through the details with N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. Sangvai also provided an update on the availability of COVID-19 vaccines this fall.

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 Greensboro, spoke with WUNC's Colin Campbell about the caucus' efforts to make a difference in a legislature dominated by Republicans. Note: This episode was recorded prior to the news of conservative activist Charlie Kirk's death in a Utah shooting.

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 after State Auditor Dave Boliek’s scathing audit report, which found that average DMV wait times have increased to an hour and 15 minutes. He says the agency is already working on many of the issues highlighted in the report.

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 top political strategists. Jim Blaine is co-founder of the firm The Differentiators and the former chief of staff to Republican Senate leader Phil Berger, and Kimberly Reynolds is a co-founder of the firm Maven Strategies and former executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party. Blaine and Reynolds expect the high-profile candidates and a big impact on the Senate balance of power could result in a campaign that breaks spending records.

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 toward getting 14,000 signatures. That’s the North Carolina Forward Party, which had amassed 2,200 signatures so far. The Forward Party’s chair, Patrick Newton, spoke with WUNC's Colin Campbell about the centrist party founded at the national level by former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.Newton sees ballot access for the Forward Party as a path for candidates who are too moderate to win a Democratic or Republican primary. Newton also spoke about the party’s proposals for election reforms, its work backing candidates at the state and local level, and how the Forward Party compares to last year’s “No Labels” party organization.

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 topics like DEI and LGBTQ issues. Sen. Benton Sawrey, R-Johnston, helped develop the legislation and joined WUNC's Colin Campbell to discuss its impacts on the state's healthcare system. Sawrey also addressed the potential impacts of the federal megabill signed by President Donald Trump on Medicaid.