Election 2020

The rise, fall of separate but equal government E.A. MORRIS FELLOWSHIP FOR EMERGING LEADERS APPLY TODAY! North Carolina’s premier leadership program. eamorrisfellows.org FOR DAILY UPDATES VISIT CAROLINAJOURNAL.COM AN AWARD-WINNING JOURNAL OF NEWS, ANALYSIS, AND OPINION FROM THE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION CAROLINAJOURNAL.COM VOL. 29 • NO. 12 • DECEMBER 2020 • STATEWIDE EDITION Election 2020 COUNTY COMMISSIONS Politicians IT’S A WRAP … MOSTLY aren’t born; Even conservative polls showed Democratic candidates with healthy leads over they’re Republicans before Election Day. trained KARI TRAVIS “You could’ve written the Supreme Court polls on ASST. MANAGING EDITOR BY KARI TRAVIS Charmin and gotten better use out of them,” Crone Take a deep breath. It’s said during a Nov. 5 presen- epublicans won a stra- over. tation sponsored by the N.C. tegic victory on Elec- Mostly. FreeEnterprise Foundation. tion Day in North Caro- North Carolina’s 2020 A majority of N.C. voters lina, claiming several former- election was a mixed bag full believe the elections were Rly Democratic county com- of unexpected results. Most conducted fairly, a post-elec- mission boards and adding to FILE PHOTO FILE voters are confident in the tion poll from Civitas Insti- GOP WINS. President Trump turned N.C. red in the contest for the White House. Republi- the pool of candidates they’ll outcomes, but others aren’t tute shows. The poll was con- cans also beat pollsters expectations in other statewde races. groom for positions in higher so sure, a new poll shows. ducted Nov. 12-14 by Harp- public offices. Some things we know er Polling and surveyed 513 Politicians aren’t born. for certain. President Trump likely voters in North Caroli- They are trained — often in won 50% of the state’s na. The margin of error is +/- small roles and in rural parts vote, turning North Caroli- 4.33%. of the state. Democrats and na red in the contest for the Two-thirds of respon- Republicans strategize care- White House. Simultaneous- dents said they’re confident fully years before an election, ly, Democratic Gov. Roy Coo- in the election. But a trou- preparing lower-level officials per won another term in the bling number of voters — to rise through the levels of Executive Mansion, collect- three in 10 — are less con- state and federal government. ing enough votes to edge Re- fident. Conservative voters While it’s easy to focus sole- publican Dan Forest by more were more likely to express ly on the outcome of the mar- than four points. concern about the election’s quee elections, local results In the state’s judicial fairness, pollsters found. offer a peek around the cor- races, Republicans made a That skepticism isn’t sur- ner. A look at the lineup of mi- sweep of all eight open seats prising. Before Nov. 3, Demo- nor-league politicians who in on the N.C. Court of Appeals crats put up a massive fight a few years may become ma- and the N.C. Supreme Court. across the state. They out- jor players. Few pollsters saw a Re- spent Republican campaigns This year, 308 county com- publican win coming in on every level. They success- mission seats were up for North Carolina, especially fully extended the state’s grabs. About a third decided not in appellate races. Clear- deadline for accepting absen- by primary elections and ap- ly, Democratic analysts were tee ballots. pointments before Election reading the wrong surveys, But the extra time did lit- PHOTO POOL Day, the N.C. Association of said Brad Crone, a Democrat- tle to help them. GOVERNOR. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper won another term in the Executive Mansion, ic political strategist in Ra- collecting enough votes to edge Republican Dan Forest by more than four points. continued PAGE 13 continued PAGE 12 leigh. Interview: CAROLINA JOURNAL 4800 SIX FORKS ROAD, #220 Catherine Truitt RALEIGH, NC 27609 As the newly elected state CJ ONLINE PERMIT NO. 302 NO. PERMIT superintendent of public DURHAM, NC DURHAM, instruction, Catherine Truitt jlf.carolina.journal PAID will oversee North Carolina’s @carolinajournal U.S. POSTAGE U.S. vast public education system. NONPROFIT ORG. NONPROFIT www.carolinajournal.com PAGE 14 [email protected] GET MORE CAROLINA JOURNAL 2 CAROLINA JOURNAL // DECEMBER 2020 CAROLINA JOURNAL FROM THE PUBLISHER Boosting public employee Maskgiving 2020 unions would cost by the numbers taxpayers plenty, study says PUBLISHER Amy O. Cooke @therightaoc EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rick Henderson @deregulator MANAGING EDITOR John Trump @stillnbarrel ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Kari Travis @karilynntravis EXECUTIVE EDITOR Don Carrington [email protected] ASSOCIATE EDITORS Julie Havlak his Thanksgiving I left few days, Cooper issued a mask- @juliehavlak North Carolina to see my or-else executive order with this Mitch Kokai brother in a state where dire warning: “We are in danger. @mitchkokai being No. 11 at the dinner table … This is a pivotal moment in our Lindsay Marchello Tdidn’t carry any stigma. fight against the coronavirus. Our @LynnMarch007 Apparently, the 11th person at actions now will determine the any Thanksgiving feast in North fate of many.” DESIGNER Carolina was a problem. She was A friend, neighbor, or relative Greg de Deugd bound to be a COVID carrier set to comes over to your house? Put on [email protected] turn dinner into a super-spread- a mask. Both of you. All 10 of you. er event. Thankfully, Gov. Roy And Cooper expects local author- PUBLISHED BY Cooper’s executive order nipped ities to threaten businesses to The John Locke Foundation that threat in the bud by “target- enforce the new mask rules. 4800 Six Forks Road, #220 ing family groups and community Department of Health and CARRINGTON DON BY PHOTO CJ gatherings, like those held around Human Services Secretary Mandy UNIONS. Groups like North Carolina Asssociation of Educators could gain Thanksgiving,” to no more than Cohen added hospitals still have collective bargaining abilities. Repealing the prohibition on collective 10 people indoors, as reported in capacity, but they “are feeling bargaining would increase government spending by up to $1.32 billion. Raleigh, N.C. 27609 Carolina Journal. the strain.” Don’t bother her with (919) 828-3876 • Fax: 821-5117 Targeting families in their www.JohnLocke.org homes wasn’t enough. Within a continued PAGE 20 axpayers could pay an extra of workers were unionized in 2019, John Hood $1.32 billion if public employ- according to the U.S. Department of Chairman ees win the ability to engage Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. COMMENTARY BY JOHN HOOD in collective bargaining, says a re- JLF researchers conducted the Bill Graham, John M. Hood Tport by the John Locke Foundation. study to discover the economic Ted Hicks, Christine Mele, North Carolina has banned gov- costs of repealing the ban on pub- Rodney C. Pitts, Paul Slobodian Parity extends ernment employees from collective lic-sector collective bargaining. David Stover, Edwin Thomas bargaining for 60 years. Repealing But unions are working to Board of Directors the prohibition would increase gov- change that, and they have won ernment spending by $889 million some footholds in the state. ISSN 2578-8167 Carolina Journal is down the ballot a monthly journal of news, analysis, to $1.32 billion — creating a burden The report doesn’t count local and commentary on state and local of up to $126.03 for each taxpayer in spending, and so the actual bill for government and public policy issues n 2020, N.C. Republicans and Longtime readers know that I 2019, says the report. taxpayers will be higher than the in North Carolina. Democrats took their respec- like to look at outcomes beyond Strengthening public unions report’s estimates, Stoops said. The ©2020 by The John Locke Founda- tive cases to the public. Each the headline races to get a better would slow economic recovery from report warns that collective bar- tion Inc. All opinions expressed in by- party asked voters to put them handle on the state’s political tra- the coronavirus and its shutdowns gaining could trigger “massive prop- lined articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the Ifully in charge of North Carolina jectory. Thanks to data gathered in North Carolina. Increasing gov- erty tax increases” at the local level. views of the editors of CJ or the staff government. by the N.C. Association of County ernment spending would drive tax- Taxpayers also could count on and board of the John Locke Founda- The voters said no. Commissioners, and crunched es and decrease the state’s econom- paying more in the long term. The tion. Material published herein may be reprinted as long as appropriate Well, to be more precise, the by my colleague Anna Martina, I ic output, says Terry Stoops, John report calculates the cost of in- credit is given. Submissions and let- vast majority of voters actually can now supplement what you’ve Locke Foundation vice president for creased wages without weighing ters are welcome and should be di- research. employee benefits. But more spend- rected to the editor. said yes to the pitch — each already heard about the elections party’s base vote was about with a closer look at county “It would impede the economic ing on retirement and health care To subscribe, call 919-828-3876. 46% of the electorate — but the commissions. recovery by making it more expen- benefits could create substantial Readers also can request Carolina remaining 8% chose to split their Going into the 2020 cycle, 56 sive to do business in North Caroli- costs, especially as retirees live lon- Journal Weekly Report, delivered each weekend by e-mail, or visit tickets.

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