North Carolina

N.C. County Kills Family-Planning Funds

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 12, 2012, 6:40PM

The elected county commissioners in New Hanover County, N.C. are sick and tired of using taxpayer funds to assist women who can't keep their legs closed. And so on Monday they voted to reject a state grant designed to cover family-planning services.

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North Carolina

UPDATED: North Carolina House Passes Ballot Initiative To Ban Gay Marriage

Jillian Rayfield | September 13, 2011, 10:45AM

Protestors gather at a National Organization for Marriage rally in St. Paul Minnesota on July 28, 2010.

Updated, September 13, 1:30PM : The state Senate has passed the measure by a vote of 30-16, meaning that it will be taken up by voters in the May primary.

Original report:

The North Carolina House has passed a measure that would bring a ballot initiative in 2012 to ban gay marriage in the state's constitution.

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North Carolina

North Carolina Debating Ballot Initiative To Ban Gay Marriage

Jillian Rayfield | September 12, 2011, 12:47PM

Protestors gather at a National Organization for Marriage rally in St. Paul Minnesota on July 28, 2010.

The Republican-led North Carolina legislature is convening this week to debate whether to put a constitutional ban on gay marriage on the 2012 ballot.

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2012

PPP Poll: North Carolina May Stay Blue

Kyle Leighton | August 11, 2011, 2:07PM

On Thursday morning TPM reported on President Obama's relative strength in Colorado, a swing state with changing demographics that seems to be unimpressed by the GOP field of candidates for President. Now new data from Public Policy Polling (D) shows that the trends are the same in North Carolina, a state that went Democratic for the first time since 1976 in the last presidential election.

Obama doesn't retain massive popularity in the state: his job approval rating is only 46% against 50%, which is below our TPM Poll Average. But despite the recent dip in approval, he remains a more appealing option than candidates from the GOP field. The only matchup within the margin of error is against former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, whom Obama outpaces 46 - 43. The President is well ahead of the rest: up in the matchups against Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) 50 - 40, businessman Herman Cain 50 - 37, former AK Gov. Sarah Palin 52 - 39, and Tex. Gov. Rick Perry 48 - 40, fairly strong considering the speculation that as a southern governor Perry could perform very well below the Mason-Dixon line.

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Redistricting

North Carolina GOP Set To Solidify Gains with Redistricting

Jessica Kim | July 28, 2011, 11:30AM

Rep. Heath Schuler (D-NC)

Rep. Heath Schuler (D-NC), a three-term congressman, is no stranger to seeking re-election in a GOP-friendly district.

But this time around, if he runs, his fortunes may turn, as he faces the prospect of protecting his seat in the wake of redistricting in North Carolina, a process that was largely controlled by state Republicans for the first time in over a century. State Democrats stand to lose their 7-6 majority and more in the state Legislature.

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Planned Parenthood

NC Gov. Bev Perdue Vetoes Abortion Restricting Bill

Jessica Kim | June 28, 2011, 3:58PM

Gov. Bev Perdue (D-NC)

Gov. Bev Perdue (D-NC) on Monday vetoed a bill that would have required women seeking abortions to wait for 24 hours and receive ultrasound images of the fetus along with descriptions of what they are seeing before having the procedure.

"This bill is a dangerous intrusion into the confidential relationship that exists between women and their doctors. The bill contains provisions that are the most extreme in the nation in terms of interfering with that relationship," Perdue said in a statement to the Raleigh News & Observer.

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Racial Justice Act

North Carolina Lawmakers Nearly Repeal 'Racial Justice Act'

Jessica Kim | June 17, 2011, 3:55PM

North Carolina State Capitol

After heated debate, a sharply divided North Carolina House on Thursday voted along party lines to repeal the Racial Justice Act, a law that allows death row inmates to challenge their sentences on the basis that race had played a role in determining their punishment. However, the move fell short by a single vote in the Republican-dominated Senate.

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2012 elections

Poll: Obama Ahead In North Carolina Going Into 2012

Eric Kleefeld | June 13, 2011, 1:12PM

President Barack Obama

In 2008, North Carolina was the surprising bonus in Barack Obama's landslide wave -- with him having picked up the 15 electoral votes of a place that people would have been very surprised to hear about as a swing state just a few years earlier. Now, a new Public Policy Polling (D) survey suggests that it could again be crucial to Obama's re-election strategy, with Obama still leading the Republican contenders.

The poll has Obama just edging out Mitt Romney by 45%-44%, leading Tim Pawlenty by 47%-40%, leading Herman Cain by 48%-37%, leading Newt Gingrich by 50%-40%, and leading Sarah Palin Palin by 52%-38%. Obama's approval rating in North Carolina is 49%, with a disapproval of 47%.

The survey of registered voters was conducted from June 8-11, and has a ±4.1% margin of error.

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Census

Report: Census Policy Cost North Carolina A Congressional Seat

Melissa Jeltsen | March 30, 2011, 11:26AM

North Carolina narrowly missed out on snagging an additional congressional seat because of the way the U.S. Census counts military personnel, according to a review by the Associated Press.

The Census doesn't count troops who are deployed overseas in the state where they live and work. Instead, they are counted in their "home state," often the state they grew up in.

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