Democrats Think Georgia Win Is Model for Turning North Carolina Blue | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Donna Martinez.

    Democrats think they've found in Georgia the winning strategy to transform North Carolina from a battleground state to a solidly blue state. The Hill reports:

• Democrats and organizers point chiefly to the region's substantial Black population for their optimism. Mississippi has the highest percentage of African Americans in the country at 38 percent, and nearly all who are registered vote Democrat. More than a quarter of the populations of Alabama and South Carolina are Black, and more than 22 percent of North Carolinians are Black.
• Nowhere was Black Americans' voting power more on display than in the Georgia races, where strong African American turnout was credited with producing all three Democratic statewide wins. Activists suggest the path to success in the South is not trying to persuade fabled swing voters to move their way but to ensure that those who already lean toward Democrats make their way to the polls.

    Interesting, and it could mean the intense focus on 'swing voters' is a thing of the past, at least for Democrats. If this strategy is to work, much rests on what happens during the first year of the Biden administration. The eyes of political consultants will be focused on how the Democrats' policy choices impact African Americans in North Carolina. How important is that? It's big. In 2022, U.S. Senate candidates for the seat now held by retiring Republican Sen. Richard Burr will either defend or oppose the Biden/Harris/Shumer/Pelosi record.

    In December, I talked with Carolina Journal Editor-in-Chief Rick Henderson about early news in the 2022 Senate race. At that time, former North Carolina congressman Mark Walker had just thrown his hat into the ring for the 2022 Senate Republican primary. We talked about Walker, Lara Trump, Pat McCrory, and Cal Cunningham.


    Never a dull moment in politics, especially in our state.