Episodes
March 14, 2025
Helene funding bill delayed, death threats growing against NC politicians
State House and Senate leaders have failed to agree on the details of a $500 million Hurricane Helene relief bill, delaying the bill's passage by weeks. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein says he wants to work with GOP lawmakers, and...
March 7, 2025
NC lawmakers target cell phones and DEI in schools, as Trump eyes federal education cuts
Helene relief aid and a bill to invest the NC Pension Plan in Bitcoin and other cyrptocurrencies are moving forward in the legislature. So are bills to ban DEI in public schools or to crack down on students using cell phones ...
Jan. 17, 2025
Court vs court in Riggs/Griffin race, Stein on repro rights, Tillis on hot seat
On this week's edition of the Wrap, Jefferson Griffin's challenge to 60,000 voters moves forward in both state and federal courts. Which one will rule first? WRAL's Laura Leslie and Will Doran also break down Stein’s executiv...
Jan. 10, 2025
The Wrap: 2025 session gets underway, state health insurance premiums to rise
WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran talk about the opening of the 2025 legislative session and what legislative leaders say their top priorities will be in the coming week. Plu...
Dec. 13, 2024
NC legislature overrides power shift veto, Supreme Court race battle continues, Helene pricetag becomes clearer
In this week's edition of the Wrap, Republican lawmakers succeed in overriding Cooper's veto of the power shift bill. WRAL's Laura Leslie and Paul Specht also break down the continuing battle over the Supreme Court race, and ...
Dec. 6, 2024
Democrats sue over Supreme Court race, plus the latest on federal Helene funding
Jefferson Griffin's campaign for Supreme Court has been trying to throw out the ballots of 60,000 people who voted this year, and now the NC Democratic Party is suing to try to block his strategy. If they're successful it's l...
Nov. 22, 2024
Political fights over control of elections, and top NC disaster official is out under scrutiny
A Helene aid bill contained little money for disaster relief but lots of unrelated provisions stripping power from Democrats who won election to key offices including incoming Governor Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jac...
Nov. 8, 2024
Election recap: Why Trump won NC yet Democrats still did well in races for governor, legislature
Nearly the entire country voted more pro-Trump in the 2024 elections compared to 2020, but only one other state had a smaller rightward shift than North Carolina. Republicans are celebrating that win and their continued domin...
Nov. 1, 2024
NC breaks early voting record as WRAL New Poll shows close races everywhere but governor
The final round of polls from WRAL News and SurveyUSA released in this final week of early voting, as more than half of all voters have now already cast a ballot, breaking the record set in 2020 for early voting. The polls sh...
Oct. 25, 2024
JD Vance on western NC voting claims, plus our analysis of new Helene relief aid
As influential Republicans in the most pro-Trump wings of the party suggest a Kamala Harris victory in North Carolina will be illegitimate due to potential voting difficulties in western North Carolina. But state elections of...
Oct. 18, 2024
Mark Robinson's lawsuit, plus sources of election misinformation and a call for political war
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is suing CNN for defamation. Multiple lawyers, including the man who won $1.4 billion from Alex Jones and InfoWars, spoke with WRAL about the lawsuit's chances of success and what more we...
Oct. 11, 2024
Helene relief package, election changes, misinformation
NC lawmakers came back to Raleigh this week to pass the first round of relief funding for Helene. The bill, signed into law Thursday, also extends flexibility to boards of election in the 25 counties included under the federa...
Sept. 27, 2024
How Mark Robinson is affecting GOP chances in NC, a week after report on porn site comments
It's been just over a week since CNN reported on comments North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson allegedly made on pornographic website Nude Africa praising Hitler, calling himself a "Black NAZI" and using slurs to talk about ...
Sept. 13, 2024
Voucher deal sealed, new poll numbers, Cooper in the spotlight
State lawmakers finally pass a massive school voucher expansion bill, plus new WRAL News poll numbers show a tight presidential race but a widening contest for governor in NC. Also, what are undocumented immigrants actually c...
Aug. 9, 2024
Musk's PAC investigation, Greater Carolina complaint and NC sports betting's 4Q take
The NC Board of Elections looks into Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC, while a liberal nonprofit accuses a conservative counterpart of bankrolling a powerful state lawmaker. Plus, the money's rolling in from the first quarter of spo...
July 27, 2024
Cooper VP rumors, plus NC lawsuits targeting RFK Jr., Cornel West
Joe Biden is out, Kamala Harris is in, and North Carolina's Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is among the top vice presidential candidates for the Harris 2024 campaign. WRAL's state politics team explains the benefits he could brin...
July 19, 2024
Pelosi to visit Raleigh amid Cooper VP rumors, NCSU chancellor retiring
There's major turnover in state government with the resignation or retirement of multiple state lawmakers, chiefs of staff and university chancellors. Josh Stein and Mark Robinson are obliterating campaign fundraising records...
July 12, 2024
Cooper VP rumors, RFK's ballot chances, Robinson dodges questions
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke in Greensboro and had high praise for Gov. Roy Cooper, who has been rumored as a potential VP pick if Harris takes over the presidential nomination. We asked Cooper, who said he still suppor...
June 21, 2024
Medical marijuana redux, budget battle, vaping and a veto
WRAL's Laura Leslie and Brian Murphy recap a very busy week on Jones St. with the battle over medical marijuana reignited and the House and Senate filing dueling budgets. Plus, a last-minute attempt to regulate vaping product...
June 13, 2024
Budget talks stall. NC targets forever chemicals, gas station heroin
North Carolina state lawmakers begin working to outlaw tianeptine, a drug marketed as a mood enhancer or diet supplement that critics call gas station heroin. Predatory roofers and towing companies may face stricter state scr...
June 7, 2024
Super PACs, birth control, RFK Jr. and an archeological fight
Could North Carolina ban birth control if Mark Robinson is elected governor? Robinson says no, but Josh Stein says there’s a reason why Robinson recently spoke at an even hosted by an anti-birth-control group. Plus the latest...
May 24, 2024
Mask ban and budget talks stall, DEI undone
Eric and Lara Trump are speaking at the annual NCGOP convention, where North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is also speaking as Donald Trump looks for a vice presidential running mate. In the legislature, a war of words between Repu...
May 17, 2024
NC mask ban debate, AI porn, video gambling
A proposal to ban masks in North Carolina moves ahead, as does a bill outlawing the use of AI to produce deepfake or child porn. Meantime, no video gambling bill has surfaced after weeks in session. Will it? WRAL Capitol Bure...
May 10, 2024
Primary runoff preview, April surprise, mask ban
WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran look at Tuesday's statewide runoffs and this year's "April surprise," which isn't good news. Plus lawmakers say campus protests are the insp...