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Democratic Congressman Don Davis is considered one of the most endangered incumbents in the country this year, after state lawmakers redrew his 1st Congressional District boundaries to make it more Republican. But some polls show Davis still has a lead over Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout. So why is Davis so hard to beat, and why has he previously outperformed fellow Democrats in northeastern North Carolina?Davis joined Colin Campbell on the WUNC Politics Podcast after an event in Williamston, where he was celebrating a new federally funded ladder truck at the local fire department. He spoke about his moderate record in Congress and his work to secure resources for Eastern North Carolina. WUNC News requested an interview with Buckhout, but her campaign did not agree to speak with us.

Democrats are hoping to pick up seats in the legislature this year to bolster Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes, but to expand their margins, they’ll have to defend seats they flipped two years ago. That includes House District 32 in Vance and Granville counties north of the Triangle. The race is a rematch from 2024, when Democrat Bryan Cohn defeated Republican Frank Sossamon by just 228 votes. Sossamon had unseated another Democrat two years earlier. This year’s race features unique issues like the future of the area’s water supply. Both candidates are touting their records from two years in Raleigh. WUNC News' Colin Campbell spent a day in Oxford and spoke with each of the candidates about a race that could help determine the legislature's balance of power.

There's only one seat on the N.C. Supreme Court on this November's ballot, and while the outcome won't change the partisan makeup of the state's highest court, it could help determine whether Democrats have a shot at retaking the court majority in 2028. Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat seeking a second eight-year term, faces Republican Sarah Stevens, who recently stepped down from the N.C. House after 17 years in the legislature, including several terms as speaker pro tem. The two candidates have differing views on the appropriate role of the court and recent moves by the court's GOP majority to overturn past decisions on voter ID, redistricting and education funding. Earls and Stevens each spoke to WUNC News' Colin Campbell about the race, the issues and their legal backgrounds.

Research Triangle Park has been a driving force in North Carolina’s growth, but it started with a group of business and political leaders who saw potential to capitalize on the area’s three universities.70 years ago, the region around Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill wasn’t known as the Triangle. And the park filled with major employers between the three communities was just undeveloped woods. The idea of bringing research and industry to this location came to life because state leaders like Gov. Luther Hodges helped push big investments. Mack Paul, a longtime land-use attorney, joined WUNC News' Colin Campbell to discuss the history and future of RTP from his new book, "Miracle Road: The Story of Research Triangle Park." The book, co-authored with his late father Allen Paul, will be released on Oct. 6.

In July, Gov. Josh Stein signed a bill that makes big changes to the laws governing state government employment. He says the laws largely haven’t been updated since the 1960s. Among the changes. state employees will find a faster hiring process, more parental leave and bereavement benefits. The bill passed the legislature unanimously, thanks in part to a bipartisan group of lawmakers and advocacy from the state’s top human resources official in Stein’s administration. Staci Meyer, director of the Office of State Human Resources, joined WUNC News' Colin Campbell to discuss the bill and how it will address the high job vacancy rates across state agencies.

More than 50 years after his role in the Senate’s Watergate investigation, a North Carolina political veteran is taking a look back at his career and how the political world has changed.Rufus Edmisten recently turned 85 and has had a long career in North Carolina, from working with U.S. Sen. Sam Ervin on the Watergate investigation to serving as attorney general and secretary of state and facing a scandal of his own. Edmisten spoke to WUNC News' Colin Campbell at his law office in downtown Raleigh, chatting about his career, the current state of Congressional hearings and his forthcoming book about civility in politics.

The abuse and neglect of a child in Charlotte prompted state lawmakers to pass stronger child welfare regulations as part of the newly enacted budget bill.The Dominique Moody Safety Act was passed in the state House and later added to the state budget bill. It addresses the death of six-year-old Dominique Moody, who was abused and neglected while living with a relative despite visits to the home by social workers and law enforcement. WUNC News sat down with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash, to learn more about how the legislation aims to prevent future tragedies and put more safeguards into the child welfare system. Chesser also spoke about new legislation on blockchain and digital currency issues and a proposed sales tax exemption for diapers.

The legislature largely wrapped up its 2026 short session this week with the arrival -- and quick passage -- of the long-delayed state budget bill. We’re sharing our This Week in State Politics segment, where WUNC News' Dave DeWitt and Colin Campbell are joined by NC Newsroom's  Adam Wagner to discuss what's in the budget, and why it got support from many Democrats. You can hear the segment – and our analysis of each week’s political news – on Friday mornings during Morning Edition on WUNC News.

The long delays in the state budget process are hurting teacher retention in rural districts like Halifax County, and it’s just one of the many funding challenges these districts are facing amid uncertain funding.To better understand how the funding challenges are playing out in rural schools, WUNC News' Colin Campbell took a trip to Halifax County – about 80 miles northeast of Raleigh and seemingly a world away economically. Halifax County Schools Superintendent Eric Cunningham explained how the state budget affects its schools, its teacher retention and its ability to afford new school buildings and programs.

With a growing population and skyrocketing construction costs, the N.C. Department of Transportation needs more help to build and improve roads and infrastructure across the state.If you’re driving around a high-growth area of the state, there’s a decent chance you might be stuck in traffic – and those daily bottlenecks are only getting worse. The Department of Transportation knows exactly where it needs to widen roads and build new ones to ease that congestion. But with inadequate revenue from the gas tax, construction on those improvements could be years away. DOT has a list of $144 billion in transportation infrastructure projects submitted by local leaders, but it only has $5 billion to spend WUNC News sat down with NCDOT Secretary Daniel Johnson at the agency’s Raleigh headquarters to get a better picture of the state’s transportation funding challenges, from controversial toll roads to the shifting sands around N.C. 12 on the Outer Banks.

Legislative leaders recently announced state employee raises as part of an initial budget agreement, but how much workers will receive will vary greatly depending on what they do for state government. The State Employees Association of North Carolina, better known as SEANC, says the 3% raise for most state employees is "not going to cut it" amid inflation and higher healthcare premiums. And while some workers like correctional officers, state law enforcement officers and teachers would get more, other hard-to-fill positions appear to be left out. WUNC News' Colin Campbell spoke with SEANC executive director Ardis Watkins about the reaction across state agencies to the pay proposal. She also addressed concerns about the elimination of vacant positions, decreasing staffing levels even as North Carolina's population grows.

A group of high school and college students want state lawmakers to crack down on the loosely regulated sales of vaping products. They're pushing for action on a bipartisan bill filed last year to regulate retailers that sell tobacco and vape products and ban sales to people under age 21. The legislation has been parked for months in the Rules committees without a hearing. The Tobacco 21 Coalition Youth Council recently came to the legislature to push for movement on the bill. UNC-Chapel Hill student Taylor Ward and Lake Norman Charter School student Pranika Senthil joined WUNC News' Colin Campbell to talk about the effort and why the regulations are needed to protect young people.

Senate leader Phil Berger lost his primary in March to Rockingham County sheriff Sam Page by just 23 votes. When the margin is that close, every factor that influenced at least 23 voters could be considered the deciding element in the race. Berger’s support for a controversial casino wasn't the only aspect of Berger’s legislative record that faced criticism during the primary.Sheila Mikhail, a prominent biotechnology executive in the Triangle, spent more than $200,000 on the race for a very different reason. She’s been advocating for a bill that would require insurance companies to cover supplemental breast cancer exams. Mikhail blames Berger and the lobbying influence of insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield for keeping the bill from a vote on the Senate floor after it passed the House nearly unanimously. She spoke with WUNC News Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell about her advocacy and why she decided to help Page.

Duke Energy says it needs to increase your power bill, and the fate of that request will soon be decided by a commission that recently changed to a Republican majority. The N.C. Utilities Commission has been holding a series of public hearings about Duke Energy’s plan to increase residential rates by up to 18 percent over the next two years. Duke says the rate increase is needed to keep up with higher demand for electricity and the need for a more modern grid that can handle storms with fewer outages. To learn more about what’s happening at the Utilities Commission and the energy policy landscape more broadly, WUNC's Colin Campbell spoke with state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, and Dan Crawford, senior director of public affairs for the N.C. League of Conservation Voters.

North Carolina’s prison system is struggling with hundreds of vacant positions as the starting pay remains stuck around $18 an hour. Correctional officers are leaving in droves for better pay elsewhere. There’s not enough money to pay the bills for basic operations. And the state’s 55 prison facilities have more than a billion dollars in deferred maintenance needs, from air conditioning systems to fire alarms.Much of the problem stems from the legislature's inability to pass a budget, and Gov. Josh Stein is asking for "critical needs" funding to begin addressing the problems. To better understand the issues, WUNC News Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell sat down with Secretary Leslie Dismukes at the headquarters of the N.C. Department of Adult Correction in Raleigh.

Williamston accountant and minister Patricia Smith pulled off an upset in this month’s primary over a six-term incumbent known for crossing party lines.Rep. Shelly Willingham, D-Edgecombe, was one of three moderate Democrats who helped give House Republicans what they call a “working supermajority” and lost their primaries. Willingham had survived previous attempts to unseat him in a primary, and while Stein endorsed a challenger to Rep. Carla Cunningham in Charlotte, he didn’t make any endorsements in the race to represent Edgecombe, Martin and Bertie counties. WUNC News' Colin Campbell spoke with Smith about her campaign, her concerns with Willingham's voting record, and some tense moments at the polls.

North Carolina's primary brought rebukes to incumbent legislators in both parties, including a razor-thin margin in the closely watched GOP primary challenge to Senate leader Phil Berger. Why did voters reject some longtime leaders in state politics? Why did Berger's home county turn against him in favor of Sheriff Sam Page? And what's next in the vote-counting process and this year's legislative session? To sort through the results, WUNC News' Colin Campbell spoke with Adam Wagner, who covers politics for the North Carolina Newsroom.

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.