The mailbox at the end of my driveway is crammed to bursting with political fliers. My phone chirps with text after text from pollsters and get-out-the-vote activists. Every weekend, I get stuck in the traffic overflow from yet another candidate's event. And I can't turn on the TV without seeing endless commercials for Donald Trump, for Kamala Harris, for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein (the commercials for Mark Robinson, his Republican opponent, abruptly stopped a few weeks ago, after he was outed as a fan of trans porn and a self-proclaimed "black Nazi"). That's right, I live in North Carolina, one of this year's crucial swing states.
My state started early voting this week and promptly got stampeded by candidates and canvassers. Nobody can tour the western region around Asheville, where they're still digging out from Hurricane Helene, but the rest of the state was one big rally. The Democrats gave us Harris filling the Eastern Carolina University coliseum in Greenville, then running mate Tim Walz in the central cities of Durham and Winston-Salem, and then Bill Clinton hitting a bunch of small towns on a bus tour. The Republicans sent veep pick J.D. Vance to speak in Wilmington on the coast, while Trump will swing by a suburb of Charlotte next week. It's unclear whether all this electioneering will make a difference. North Carolina is often called purple, but we're really more of a deep magenta. We haven't voted for a Democrat for president since 2008. It's true that we often split our ballots and pick a Democratic governor even when we prefer the Republican as president — but that might just be a reflection of a state GOP that is much further to the right than the average Carolinian and offers extremists as nominees
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
September 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictatorIn the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for coup attemptSpeed Read Bolsonaro was convicted of attempting to stay in power following his 2022 election loss
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killingTALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
-
Why does Donald Trump keep showing up at major sporting events?Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events
-
‘Democracy is under threat globally’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Former top FBI agents sue, claiming Trump purgeSpeed Read The agents alleged they were targeted by a “campaign of retribution”
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
Judge lets Cook stay at Fed while appealing ousterSpeed Read Trump had attempted to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud
