Free Republic

North Carolinians who have been inundated with TV campaign commercials may start noticing a gap in ads for Senate candidate Michael Whatley. The Whatley campaign has temporarily pulled ads on television, a campaign source told McClatchy. The source said this is a short-term adjustment of who the campaign is targeting. “We are confident we have the resources to target our late-breaking supporters and win on Election Day,” the source said. The campaign’s decision comes as national Republicans pull away from North Carolina’s Senate race to focus on other candidates nationwide. Whatley, 58, a Republican from Gastonia, is facing off against...

Outgoing RINO Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) apparently wants President Donald Trump to know that the phone-number game can go both ways. During an appearance Monday on ABC’s far-left daytime program “The View,” Tillis delivered what sounded like a thinly veiled warning to President Trump after the hosts brought up Trump’s decision to publicly post Senator Tom Cotton’s phone number over the weekend.

In the aftermath of two devastating hurricanes, then-Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration steered some $100 million in disaster funding toward affordable housing projects — despite hundreds of storm victims stuck in temporary homes, according to an analysis. Under Cooper’s watch, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) sent $100 million for affordable housing as the $1 billion agency was suffering from a gaping budget shortfall, an analysis by the John Locke Foundation, a free-market think tank in the state, found. One of the affordable housing projects, Starway Village, was a $9 million 278-unit complex that opened...

Republicans are moving up to $10 million from North Carolina’s Senate race and putting it toward shoring up deep-red Kansas, The Post has learned, while the main Trump-backing super PAC and the official Senate GOP campaign arm are done spending in the Tar Heel State. The Senate Leadership Fund, aligned with Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), initially set aside $71 million to elevate North Carolina GOP nominee Michael Whatley — but is now cutting its losses after shelling out just $30 million, according to sources familiar with the super PAC’s thinking. One of those sources suggested that at least $8.2...

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has a double-digit lead over his competitor, former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley, in his state’s Senate race, according to a new poll. In the AARP poll, released Monday, 53 percent of respondents said they would “definitely” or “probably” back Cooper or leaned toward doing so in the case the election happened that day, while 42 percent said the same of Whatley. One percent backed “someone else,” and 5 percent were unsure about their candidate of choice. The poll comes amid a problematic electoral environment for Republicans, with slumping approval ratings...

A key GOP super PAC reportedly has removed $6.5 million in ad reservations from North Carolina's Senate race for the month of October with Republican candidate Michael Whatley trailing former Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper in polls. The GOP-aligned Old North Action pulled the reservations as Republicans assess their spending in the closely watched contest for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, Semafor reported Monday, citing media tracker AdImpact. The group still has $14.5 million in advertising reserved through Election Day. The Senate Leadership Fund, the leading Republican Senate super PAC, also adjusted its North Carolina spending,...

With just over a month until early in-person voting begins on Oct. 15, North Carolinians are squarely focused on pocketbook issues. According to a new Elon University poll released Thursday, 86% of registered voters surveyed said inflation and the cost of living are “very important” issues, with 73% describing the general economy and healthcare as most important issues this fall. Husser said that probably won’t help Republicans in competitive races in November. “President Trump largely was re-elected because people thought he was going to handle the economy better than [Kamala] Harris,” said Jason Husser, director of the Elon University Poll....

North Carolina Democrat state legislative candidate Shelly Headen posted a Facebook story from a vacation showing her in front of ovens in a German concentration camp memorial, saying, “Visiting Dauchau [sic] Concentration Camp in Germany… This is where Trump supporters belong.” Headen was reportedly visiting Dachau, where the memorial states that 41,500 people were murdered. In social media photos, Headen is seen smiling as she stands in front of what appears to be crematorium ovens, which were used by the Nazi SS to burn the bodies of Jews and other prisoners who died or were murdered at the camp. Headen...

A bipartisan six-member delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana on August 25, two days after Kazakhstan elected the first members of its new unicameral Kurultai. Tokayev called the timing symbolic and proposed closer dialogue between Congress and the new legislature. The delegation was led by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and included Greg Murphy, Carol Miller, Ronny Jackson, Wesley Bell, and Ed Case. Smith said President Donald Trump had called him at 2 a.m., several hours before the meeting. Trump sent his regards, expressed appreciation for his relationship with...

CMS students head back to the classroom on Tuesday, but Channel 9 learned the man accused of threatening to kill students at five different schools is now out of jail. Investigators say Drew Owens laid out mass shooting plans for a few elementary, middle and high schools. At 11:30 Saturday morning, Owens walked out of the Mecklenburg County Jail. Now a lot of parents tell us they're looking over their shoulders. "Is he going to show up at one of the schools? It's not good," said one parent. She was so afraid that she didn't want her face shown. "I'm...

The FBI interviewed Salvatore Gravano, the former underboss of the Gambino crime family known as "Sammy the Bull," to ask if ex-FBI Director James Comey likely knew what the term "86" means, according to court documents.

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is maintaining his lead over former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley in the state’s Senate race, according to a new poll released Friday. A High Point University Poll found the Democratic candidate had a 5-point advantage over his GOP opponent among likely North Carolina voters. Fifty percent of respondents backed Cooper, while 45 percent supported Whatley in the contest. The candidates will face off in the November race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis. The North Carolina seat is one of the six GOP-controlled seats Democrats are hoping to flip...

(The Center Square) – A southern state that banned medical gender transition for children is funding a network of doctors and therapists who promote some of those same controversial treatments, an investigation by The Center Square found. A nonprofit called Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group openly touts puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones as treatment options for minors. And through 2027, it's receiving $1.28 million from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, records and interviews show. North Carolina state law strictly forbids body-altering gender treatments on children younger than 18, including puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries. Health and Human...

Convicted Killer Allegedly Shot Two Men Hours After Getting Out Of Jail By iHeartRadio August 3, 2026 Mugshot of David Simpson, 29 Photo: Mecklenburg County Jail A Charlotte man with a history of violent offenses is accused of shooting two men—killing one—less than two hours after being released from jail on bond last week. David Simpson, 29, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and possession of a firearm by a felon in the early morning shooting on Wednesday (July 29) at the Country Club apartments in...

A man accused of killing one person and injuring another in an east Charlotte apartment complex shooting appeared before a Mecklenburg County judge Friday after initially refusing to leave his jail cell. David Simpson, 29, is facing charges for the Dunlavin Way shooting Wednesday. Simpson is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious harm, and possession of a firearm by a felon. A woman identified as Simpson's girlfriend, Shakema Scott, was also charged with accessory after the fact. The shooting happened outside an apartment complex around 1:45 a.m., according...

CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said it worked with the U.S. Forest Service on Sunday in Caldwell County to arrest 13 people who were in the country illegally. Many had criminal histories, including DUI convictions and illegal entry, agency officials said. Wilson Creek attracts families from as far away as Charlotte looking for a place to swim and gather during the summer. A woman who visited the creek on Tuesday believes the Department of Homeland Security went too far in targeting an area where Hispanics gather on the weekend. “I feel like it’s becoming more of...

Residents at two swanky North Carolina communities have sounded the alarm over alleged trespassers taking over their pools, claiming that their homeowners associations (HOA) are not doing enough to stop the rowdiness. The complaints have emerged at Edge of Auburn in Garner and Trace at Olde Towne in nearby Raleigh, with residents saying they have become afraid to use their amenities funded through hefty HOA dues. Dramatic footage from one of the pool areas showed a spat between residents and nonresidents, WRAL reported. It was not clear how or why the confrontation started, but homeowners described how it embodied the...

Democratic Senate contenders are dramatically out-raising their Republican peers, according to Federal Election Commission data — with Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and James Talarico in Texas leading the pack. Eight of the top 10 Senate candidate fundraiser this year are Democrats, whose top contestants have raked in $574 million, compared to the Republicans’ $336 million, per the FEC. Incumbent Sen. Ossoff (D-Ga.) is the biggest fundraiser on both sides, having raked in a jaw-dropping $77 million as of June 30, and has a staggering $42.5 million in cash on hand. He’s raised nearly $98 million as a Senate candidate, including the...

Gov. Roy Cooper leads Michael Whatley by four percentage points in a new poll from Public Policy Polling, which shows a race that remains competitive as voters begin to tune into the campaign. While national attention has increasingly turned to high-profile Senate races in Maine and Texas, the newly released poll suggests that Whatley, the former RNC and NC GOP chairman, still has an opportunity to contest a race that forecasters say favors Cooper. The PPP poll, released on Monday, surveyed 759 North Carolina voters earlier this month and found Cooper leading the race by 48% to 44%, with a...

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said Thursday that he will not support Todd Blanche for attorney general unless President Donald Trump’s nominee first meets with women who say the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein abused them as minors. Tillis announced his position during the second day of the acting attorney general's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying the meeting must occur before he is prepared to advance the nomination. “I have not made a final decision,” Tillis said of whether he will vote to advance Blanche to lead the Justice Department. “Todd Blanche said he’d meet with the...