Episodes
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 …
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 Ja…
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 domi…
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 s…
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 o…
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 w…
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 feder…
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 …
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 sp…
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 bri…
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 record…
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 suppo…
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 produc…
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 sc…
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 lates…
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 Rep…
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 Bur…
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 ins…
May 3, 2024
Antisemitism, millions for vouchers, a bourbon-soaked soiree
President Joe Biden visited North Carolina twice this week, and rumors are flying about a trip state lawmakers and lobbyists took to Kentucky. As protesters opposed to Israel's bombing of Gaza replaced the American flag at U…
April 26, 2024
2024 legislative session kicks off, Bernie Sanders investigation highlights NC
Medical marijuana, immigration, gambling updates and a $1 billion state budget surplus could come to dominate the new 2024 North Carolina legislative short session. Plus, Senate leader Phil Berger talks about the future of t…
April 19, 2024
Budget news, Balanced Nutrition, and sports gambling pays off
WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie wraps up the week on Jones Street, including an investigation into the nonprofit led by the wife of the lieutenant governor. Plus, good news for budget writers, and a look at the state’…
April 12, 2024
Japanese, Ukrainian leaders look to NC, plus 2024 budget sneak peek
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits with Gov. Roy Cooper in Raleigh, and two members of North Carolina congressional delegation travel to Ukraine for meetings with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The North Carolina S…
April 5, 2024
Teacher turnover, the daycare cliff and weight-loss drugs
WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran discuss a surge in teacher turnover in North Carolina public schools, and the end of coverage of weight-loss drugs by the State Health Plan…