Welcome back to the Old North State Update. This is edition #25 for 2026.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Shots fired over Elections Law bill
Things got tense over House Bill 958, Elections Law Changes. Folks should read the bill for themselves before reading any media reports about it — many of which are politicizing it and getting some of the facts wrong.
The rumor mill says Boliek may run for governor in 2028, so expect attacks on him to increase and be amplified by legacy and dark money-backed media in the state.
Senate Minority Leader defends her F-bomb “satire” stunt
Sen. Sydney Batch (D-Wake) is refusing to apologize for her video with Rep. Vernetta Alston in which Batch hurled F-bombs and other obscenities at legislature Republicans. Batch defended the Key and Peele-inspired video as “satire” that she says has seen support from the public.
In my weekly Monday call with WBT’s Pete Kaliner this week, we talked about the vulgar Batch video. Catch that segment here.
Another Democrat stunt
Following Batch’s refusal to apologize, NC Democratic Party (NCDP) Chair Anderson Clayton initiated a stunt of her own by delivering an oversized card to Rep. Sarah Stevens on her last day at the legislature.
Clayton enlisted the help of Bryan Anderson to post a video of her engaged in the stunt. Anderson is the reporter for The Assembly who hijacked Senate candidate Michael Whatley’s roundtable a week ago.
The card reads “Good Riddance“ at the top and tries to tie Stevens to the NCDP’s sex offender freeze tag campaign.
The NCGOP had a response to Clayton’s stunt:
The NCDP put out a press release about Clayton’s stunt with a link to the video:
The press release, which oddly is not to be found on the NCDP website, included this quote from Clayton:
“Sarah Stevens is holding on to the thousands she raised from convicted child predator Harvey West because she can’t fund her campaign without dirty money. Even though West was very open about his record with NCGOP leadership, Stevens still had him raise big money for her. Stevens is showing us that she will always choose predators and the well-connected over the people of North Carolina.”
Stevens herself addressed the stretch of trying to tie her to West in an exclusive interview with me at North State Journal.
“I had no idea he was on a sexual offender registry … or that he was put there 24 years ago,” Stevens said. “When I go to an event with 150 people, I don’t check everybody’s criminal history for their lifetime.”
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
The communications “adviser” to the NC Democrats tried gaslighting me over Clayton’s stunt. It didn’t go well for him, or for his pal, a former Cooper campaign staffer. Yet they kept digging that hole and repeating their script, only to have their own logic thrown back at them. Pavlov would have loved these guys.
CONGRESS
NCDP event targets Republican Congressman Hudson
The NCDP began its “2026 District Tour” in Burlington on June 12. Burlington Mayor Beth Kennett kicked off the event followed by NCDP Chair Anderson Clayton, Congressional Candidate Major (Ret.) Richard Ojeda, as well as a business owner and other citizens.
With Ojeda’s presence there, the event seems like it was more about targeting Hudson than anything else.
Ojeda talked about Hudson putting party loyalty ahead of the people’s priorities, yet the NCDP has made sure to get rid of anyone not staying in line with their party’s agenda — just this March, we saw the NCDP and Gov. Stein target three of their own with primary challengers and unseat them for voting for what was best for their people.
“People are tired of politicians who put party loyalty ahead of the people they represent. And that’s exactly what Richard Hudson has become.”
“Right now, Richard Hudson has made his priorities crystal clear. When given a choice between standing up for North Carolina’s working families and standing with Donald Trump, Richard Hudson chooses Donald Trump every single time.”
U.S. SENATE
This Week’s BIG Story
From the Washington Free Beacon: Democratic Senate Hopeful Roy Cooper Hosted Imam Closely Tied to Hamas at Secret ‘Iftar Dinner’ at NC Governor’s Mansion: Muslim Soiree Kept Under Wraps for Weeks
Biden’s basement strategy
Cooper held another curated supporter-only campaign event in Greenville.
Cooper’s Killers
The Whatley Warroom launched a website called Cooper’s Killers, highlighting the violent offenders release by Cooper under his secret COVID-era prisoner release agreement.
Whatley continues No Tax on Tips tour
Michael Whatley held another no tax on tips roundtable in Wilmington on Thursday.
“Millions of North Carolina seniors receive Social Security checks each year and nearly half of all seniors rely on Social Security for at least half of their income. This April, these seniors paid an average of $11,700 less in taxes thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut Act,” said Whatley.
“The first thing Roy Cooper said when he entered this race is he opposed these very tax cuts which have put more money into the hands of North Carolina seniors,” Whatley said. “While Roy Cooper has spent his career trying to raise taxes on our seniors and working families, I will fight for families across North Carolina to make more and keep more of their money.”
Cooper recycles past messaging
Click the post. Read the replies.
Polling updates are being skipped this week as no new polls are out to impact the NC Senate average. Last week, Sabato’s Crystal Ball marked the race “leans Democrat.”
What I Am Reading
From outgoing DNI Director Tulsi Gabbard: Fauci Funded Wuhan Lab Research That Sparked COVID, New Evidence Fauci Manipulated Intelligence and Lied to Congress
View Gabbard’s statement on this document drop on X.
Related Video: Gabbard releases documents showing U.S. Biolabs operating globally