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NC Is A Remarkably Diverse State, Evenly Divided Politically, Good Training Ground for the Middle East, by Rob Christensen, News and Observer.
Labor's Unprecedented Involvement in NC Campaigns Paid Big Dividends, by Rob Christensen and Ryan Teague Beckwith, News and Observer.
A New South Rising: It's Increasingly Competitive and Growing in National Importance, by Chris Kromm, Institute for Southern Studies
My take on the 2008 elections:
By 14,912 votes, North Carolina voted for Barack Obama. I'd say all of us who lent our votes, our voices, our blogs, our emails, our time or our money had an impact. This victory is surely evidence that one person can make a difference.
Libertarian Bob Barr (R-GA) won 25,722 votes, and played a spoiler. If one assumes that Barr supporters would have preferred John McCain, they probably deprived him of winning NC.
If there is a single individual who is responsible for this historic shift in NC's political fortunes after voting for Republican presidential candidates every year since 1972, with the exception of 1976, it is probably Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina, who worked so hard to establish early voting reforms in the state. Congratulations to Bob and to the entire, burgeoning NC progressive movement.
Marc Farinella was the state director for the Obama campaign. From an office in Raleigh, he oversaw "about 50 offices and 23,000 volunteers in North Carolina. The campaign overwhelmed Republican John McCain with TV and radio advertising, direct mail pieces and automated calls. Obama got a majority of his votes during early voting, winning 54 percent of the votes cast before Election Day." The News and Observer profiled him here.
Obama Wins NC, NY Times: "The total shows 49.9 percent for Mr. Obama to 49.5 percent for Mr. McCain....Early voting gave him a crucial edge when the final tallies were made. In addition, the share of the black vote increased from 2004. Mr. Obama won early voters by 178,000 votes –and actually lost on Election Day by 165,000 votes, said Tom Jensen, a Democratic pollster based in Raleigh...Most of Mr. Obama’s margin of victory came in the state’s seven urban centers. This year, 22 percent of the total electorate was black, according to Mr. Jensen’s analysis, compared with 18.6 percent in 2004...Mr. Obama won about 35 percent of the white vote. Given the numbers, Mr. Obama’s total was about one-third black and two-thirds white."
How Obama won North Carolina by Tom Jensen, Public Policy Polling: "I think it will be a very long time before a Presidential candidate of either party is able to win by double digits in the state. With this election North Carolina has entered the top tier of swing states."
How Did Obama Win NC? Six Reasons, by Chris Kromm, Facing South Blog, Institute for Southern Studies, and publisher of Southern Exposure magazine: "What ultimately made the difference is that Obama ignored the pundits and invested the time, resources and energy needed to clinch the deal."
Turning NC Blue: Why the 50-state Strategy Worked, by Ed Cone
BlueNC: How did North Carolina end up the ultimate toss-up state? Reviewing county-by-county data and demographic changes in NC
Surge in New Voters Turns NC Blue (News and Observer) |
Exit poll survey confirms partisan shift|
Charts: Voter registrations surge in Triangle|
Map: The Triangle shifts blue
Tuesday's Undeniable Progressive Message, by Chris FitzSimon, NC Policy Watch: "People in North Carolina want things to be different in Washington and don't want to turn the state over to politicians more obsessed with taxes and stoking anti-religious fears than they are with improving education, expanding access to health care, and helping people who are struggling to find a job and keep their homes. That's the message from Tuesday's election in North Carolina." Read the whole thing.
State-by-state Results Suggest Appalachia, Parts of South Still Haven't Overcome Racial Divisions
Powerful New Progressive Coalition Emerges in North Carolina |Launching a New Progressive Movement in North Carolina
NC's Changing Political Landscape l Kay Hagan Beats Elizabeth Dole for Senate | Presidential,
Gubernatorial and Senatorial Races in NC Were Closely Tied. Straight
Party Voters, Fewer Ticket Splitters Give Democrats the Edge | Why Dole-Hagan Senate Race Was So Competitive
How Obama Could Take North Carolina
Andy and Opie Back Barack Obama|James Taylor: Carolina (and Obama) on My Mind|
'Obamacans': Conservatives and Republicans for Obama, Beginning in North Carolina|Pam Cash-Roper of Pittsboro, NC, a Republican, Spoke at the Democratic Convention and Explained Why She's Voting for Obama
Leading
NC Conservative Has Grave Doubts About Bush Iraq Policy
|Jesse Helms, 1921-2008: One of Us
| Life in North Carolina, 1990 |
NC GOP Continues Long Tradition of Fear-Mongering, Guilt By Association, Racial Division |
