When Jolene Strickland ran for North Carolina governor in 1996, she received press coverage, money, and votes. If only she existed. Originally published in The Assembly. The 1996 campaign season had just kicked off, and the editorial staff of the Independent Weekly, where I worked at the time, was meeting at our Durham office to plan our […]
Between Place and Party
Charles Graham has rejected party orthodoxy, gone internet viral, and run a dozen points ahead of the Democratic ticket. Now, his bid for an upset congressional victory highlights the challenge for North Carolina’s moderate rural Democrats. Originally published in The Assembly. Photos by Roderico Díaz. One of the most viral ads of the current election cycle […]
A New Democratic Playbook
Ricky Hurtado bucked party strategists to run a different kind of campaign. Is he the vanguard of Latinx electoral power and millennial campaigning in North Carolina? Originally published in The Assembly. Photos by Cornell Watson. When Ricky Hurtado launched his state legislative campaign in November 2019, the kickoff party signaled a new kind of Democratic politics […]
Election Week 2020
Coverage for The Washington Post Local stories Oct. 31: N.C. police arrest at least 8, spray ‘pepper-based vapor’ to disperse voter turnout march that included kids Nov. 1: Peaceful march to the polls in North Carolina is met with police pepper spray and arrests With Isaac Stanley-Becker Nov. 3: N.C. law enforcement agencies sued for […]
In 2016 she voted Green Party. In 2020 she chose Biden.
Originally published in The Washington Post on Election Day 2020 MORRISVILLE, N.C. — In 2016, Ilene Ellis voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, whose emphasis on environmental protection she appreciated. She couldn’t muster enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton, who she assumed would win in a landslide. “I listened to the polls. It seemed to me […]
Our Stutter: Joe Biden, Brayden Harrington—and Me
Joe Biden’s narrative about conquering his stammer might be true for him. That doesn’t mean it should be imposed on the rest of us. Originally published in The Nation WHEN 13-YEAR-OLD BRAYDEN HARRINGTON peered into the camera during the Democratic National Convention and described his February meeting with Joe Biden, virtually everyone I know who stutters felt […]
New Sheriffs in Town
African Americans win top law enforcement posts in North Carolina. Originally published in the The Washington Post. DURHAM, N. C. — THREE DAYS AFTER HE WAS SWORN IN as Durham County’s new sheriff last month, Clarence Birkhead ended his department’s cooperative relationship with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Within a week, his staff rebuffed ICE […]
Making a Marriage Work
Please click here to be directed to the PDF of “Making a Marriage Work,” Carolina Alumni Review, January-February 2019 issue.
“We’re At that Tipping Point”
Anita Earls has been the North Carolina GOP’s chief antagonist in the courtroom. Now she’s running for a seat on the state Supreme Court as a GOP threat to pack the court looms. Originally published in Talking Points Memo JUDICIAL RACES IN NORTH CAROLINA tend to be low-key affairs. But the crowd gathered at a […]
Democracy on the Line
How the GOP uses redistricting to maintain power in the purple state of North Carolina. Originally published in The Nation. JEFF JACKSON WAS A YOUNG PROSECUTOR living in Charlotte, North Carolina, when a seat in the State Senate unexpectedly opened up in 2014. To Jackson, politics seemed like an antidote to the daily frustration of […]
