Tag Archives: The Daily Haymaker

Every Vote Counts

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On Tuesday, The Daily Haymaker reported that Phil Berger had conceded in his primary election. Sheriff Sam Page won the primary election by 23 votes.

The article notes:

…Initially, he was a good counter-weight to the  left-of-center antics of House speaker Thom Tillis and governor Pat McCrory.  However, as those two moved on — it appeared Berger started to enjoy the perks of Raleigh a wee bit too much.  Berger built a machine with tentacles extending into just about every aspect of governing.  His team — not local parties — was picking candidates to run for the General Assembly.  Money became a very important ingredient to the legislative process. Eventually, all of the legislative branch’s significant decisions were being made in and around Berger’s offices. A handful of folks were often calling the shots while everyone else sat around waiting for instructions.  (In 2024, the Berger machine managed to get two of their own folks elected to the positions of state auditor and state treasurer.)

It was Phil Berger’s world.  We were just allowed to live in it — for a price. 

There is a Democrat candidate awaiting Sam Page in November.  We hear state Democrats are dumping money on this guy, and that Roy Cooper and Josh Stein have both appeared with him for photo ops.   Perhaps they are hoping they can pull off an upset in the wake of a very turbulent GOP primary.  But the district is very, very, very Republican-leaning. 

We also hear word that a search for Berger’s replacement as senate president pro tem is underway.  Of course, that only matters if the GOP holds on to its majority.  The names we’ve heard so far:  Bill Rabon of Brunswick County, Mike Lee of New Hanover, and Todd Johnson of Union County.  In our view, all three would be more of the same. The climate of fear and intimidation needs to be lifted forever from the senate chamber and the legislative buildings.  And, of course, ditch the pay-to-play. 

As a member of the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association, I have made numerous trips to Raleigh to support various issues. Phil Berger has not represented the views of North Carolina’s voters. This is a chance to make a change. We need the Senate to elect a leader with integrity who will represent the voters in the state.

The Same Rules Should Apply To Everyone

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One of the most contested races in the North Carolina primary election this month was the Republican primary race between state Senate Leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. As of now, Sam Page has won the race by 23 votes. Phil Berger is demanding a recount (which he is entitled to). He is, however, required to play by the recount rules.

On Wednesday, The Daily Haymaker reported:

Republican state Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) was handed a setback in his election recount efforts Wednesday when the North Carolina State Board of Elections declined to take up his request for an expedited hand-eye recount of 220 ballots.

The decision comes as Berger seeks to overcome a 23-vote deficit to primary opponent Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. The request for the hand-eye examination — meaning visual review by human counters without the use of a machine — came as part of Berger’s request for a recount of the race on Tuesday, which remains ongoing.

Of the ballots Berger singled out, 217 are undervotes, in which voters appear to have not voted on a ballot item despite casting a ballot, either because they left the section blank or left an unclear marking. The other three are overvotes, ballots in which multiple candidates appear to have been selected, invalidating the vote

There is no remedy for the former if they truly are undervotes, said State Board of Elections Executive Director Sam Hayes, because the board “can’t account for something that is not there.”

Under state law, “if it is impossible to clearly determine a voter’s choice in a ballot item, the official ballot shall not be counted for that ballot item.” For ballot items where selections cannot be read by a machine, votes can only be counted if “human counters can clearly determine the voter’s choice.”

The article concludes:

Spending $12 million of other people’s money to eviscerate your opponent — and you STILL manage to lose by 23 votes. Losing your home county by 2-to-1.  (*Oh, the agony …*)

The Mustache™ is hinting that they’re planning to lawyer up and pull a Jefferson Griffin.  And why not?  It worked *so well* for the plan’s namesake.

I wonder if the party establishment will moan as loudly this time about all the damage the court fight is doing to the party?

This is something to watch carefully. Phil Berger is not going to give up his power easily.

The Power Of The Primary

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North Carolina voters have not been thrilled with their representation in Washington for a while. Thom Tillis never seems to pass up an opportunity to stab his voters in the back. Our representation in the North Carolina legislature also has some serious problems. They don’t seem to understand that eastern North Carolina is part of the state and contributes to the general welfare of the state.

On Thursday, The Daily Haymaker posted an article about the importance of primary elections. If you want to elect Representatives and Congressmen who actually represent you, you have to show up at the primary elections.

The title of the article is, “Tired of being *played* by the GOPe? Get their attention with the power of the primary.” Yes!

The article notes:

We told you earlier about how DOGE has been reduced to something being run out of the Office of Management and Budget.  Now we hear Ed Martin has been bounced out of the Government weaponization office at the Department of Justice. 

A grand total of ONE cut recommended by DOGE has passed the GOP-controlled Congress. We’veactually got elected Republicans reinstating wasteful spending the Trump White House cut via Executive Order.  We’ve got a lot of elected Republicans — including our not very smart junior US Senator — trying to sabotage the illegal alien cleanup efforts being led by ICE and DHS.

…We can’t even get Republicans in Washington to approve voter ID.

…Getting Phil Berger out of elected office would be another great grassroots victory.  According to what I’m hearing out of Rockingham and Guilford counties, that is very possible. (Berger has led the NCGOP’s transformation into an even bigger whoring-for-lobbyist-dollars operation than Basnight or Black could have ever dreamed of.)

…You’ve got a good conservative option out there in the 11th.  A guy with a great free-market name: Adam Smith.  He’s a special forces veteran and a successful small businessman.  He turned out to be one of the real heroes of the Hurricane Helene relief effort.  (You know, the operation Whatley was supposed to be running.)  

…In the US Senate race, DC and Raleigh have been trying to shove Michael Whatley down our throats.  Trump has been hyper-pissed at Thom Tillis.  Yet, his political operation is trying to replace Tillis with Tillis’s protege and preferred successor.  The DC party goons have gone overboard scaring all vendors, consultants, donors, and media away from anyone not named Whatley.  The result of all that?

…Someone slipped up and ran a poll showing Don Brown performing about as well against Cooper as Whatley is.  Brown has not been blessed with fundraising and strategy help from DC and Raleigh like Whatley has.  But he’s hanging right with The Chosen One, St. Michael of Gastonia.

The GOPe has been trying to pretend there is no primary for the Senate seat. A primary might have forced Whatley to have to answer for his sycophant protection of Tillis, and his penchant for screwing MAGA activists at every opportunity.

If you ever want to drain the swamp, you need to vote in the primary election!

Behind The Scenes In North Carolina Republican Politics

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There is a Senate race in North Carolina. There is also an interesting U.S. House of Representatives race in recently redistricted District 1. It is possible with the redistricting that District 1 will be represented by a Republican after 2026. There are a number of Republicans getting into the race.

First, the Senate race. President Trump’s candidate is Michael Whatley. My candidate is Don Brown. I believe Don Brown will represent North Carolina. I believe that Michael Whatley will represent Washington, D.C. Michael Whatley is a little too close to the Washington establishment for my taste. I am looking for someone who will represent North Carolina and will not be afraid to take a stand that benefits North Carolina. Don Brown is a former military Judge Advocate General. He thinks like a lawyer and knows how to debate and make his points.

In the First District House of Representatives race, President Trump’s candidate is Laurie Buckhout. Again, I support President Trump, but I totally disagree with him on this choice.

On Thursday, The Daily Haymaker noted:

Conservative Republican Congressional candidate and Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck was true to his direct approach when commenting on the announcement that Laurie Buckhout, the loser in the 2024 1st Congressional District election, was entering the race for the 2026 Republican nomination.  

“They say the definition of insanity is repeating the same losing formula again and expecting a different result, and the loser of the last election saying she’s the best choice this time is insane. But Laurie Buckhout’s behavior over the past few weeks may be the new definition of insanity. Her strange behavior in an attempt to manipulate the Republican Primary is puzzling.   She believes running for Congress is Big Business and cares more about special interest money than the people of Eastern North Carolina. That’s why she has earned the name Laurie Sellout.”

The article also notes:

The day following Buckhout’s second phone call, Buck discovered that Buckhout had called another candidate in the Republican Primary, State Senator Bobby Hanig, and told him the White House was encouraging her to run, and if he would drop out of the race, she would make him her Chief of  Staff in Washington.

 “She went from telling me she had health issues and didn’t want to run, to the next day saying she was running and offering somebody a position in her mythical Congressional office if they would drop out of the race.  I was astounded,” Buck said.

Asa Buck and Bobby Hanig are both good candidates and both would do a good job. I tend to favor Bobby Hanig because he was the fighter who made the difference in ShrimpGate. He and three other North Carolina Senators (and many Republicans in the North Carolina House of Representatives) fought against a law that would have ended the shrimping industry in North Carolina. He would be a fighter in Congress.

Insulting The Republican Voters Of North Carolina

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The Democrats are NOT the ones insulting the Republican voters in North Carolina–the Washington elite Republicans are!

On Tuesday, The Daily Haymaker reported:

In a memo compiled by the NRSC and obtained by NOTUS, the committee laid out why it believes this seat is firmly in Republican hands. […]

“Democrats will continue to treat it like a battleground, but President Trump’s dominance across three election cycles, voter registration trends, and overwhelming support for conservative priorities all point in one direction: continued GOP dominance in North Carolina’s federal elections and a Senator Michael Whatley,” the memo reads.

The memo points to how Trump won the state three times and how he “improved his vote share in 83 out of 100 counties and made significant gains in rural and working-class communities across the state.”

“Since 2008, the last time Democrats won a Senate seat in North Carolina, their voter registration advantage has collapsed, with a more than 850,000-voter shift toward Republicans,” the memo says. “Nearly 10% of that occurred since President Trump’s re-election in November 2024, narrowing the Democrat advantage to just 18,019 today and positioning Republicans to take the lead for the first time in North Carolina’s history before voting begins next fall.” […]

Michael Whatley has not won the Primary Election yet, and the Plan of Organization of the North Carolina Republican Party bars the party from endorsing candidates in the Primary Election. Admittedly, this is Washington endorsing Whatley, but that makes it worse. Do the voters of North Carolina have a voice?

The article also notes:

DC did this to us at least once before with Elizabeth Dole — who ran in 2002 despite having not resided in North Carolina since the (Lyndon not Andrew) Johnson administration.  That political master-stroke earned us the pleasure of six years of Kay Hagan.

There will be a primary for this US Senate seat in 2026 — despite the scam the political establishment and the compliant liars in the drive-by media are trying to perpetrate.  At least one Republican not named Whatley –  Washington County native, Mecklenburg County attorney and current Union County resident Don Brown — will be on the primary ballot. Check him out. 

The political class in DC and Raleigh fear those of us in the unwashed class sending them someone who can’t be bought off and will actually stand for something and DO what he or she promised on the campaign trail.  THAT is why they try to pretend there is no primary. THAT is why they want to talk about November instead of the March party primary.

Primaries are one of the few ways we in the unwashed crowd get to make our voices heard.  Stomping out the primaries leaves us with the rotten general election choices who have been selected and paid off by the monied special interests. Not a single public servant among them.

This is not acceptable. If Washington pushes Whatley to the point that he wins the primary, I will seriously consider leaving my vote for Senate blank. The Republican elites will use the same argument for Whatley that they used for Thom Tillis–“if you don’t vote for him, the Democrats will win the seat.” We saw how that worked out. If the Republican elites pick our candidate, the Democrats might as well have the seat.

The North Carolina Senate Race

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I love President Trump, but I am not convinced he truly understands North Carolina politics. He has thrown his support behind Michael Whatley in the 2026 North Carolina Senate race. I firmly believe that choice does not line up with the wishes of the average Republican in North Carolina. There is another Republican candidate in the race that I believe would better represent the views of the average North Carolinian–Don Brown.

On Monday, The Daily Haymaker reported:

A lot of folks are fast-forwarding this US Senate campaign to November 2026. Many folks are saying: “Hey, Whatley is the man.  Trump has blessed him. Bring on Cooper.”

Lest we forget that there is a Republican primary in March.  Mike Whatley – a native of Watauga County and current resident of Gaston County – will face off against Washington County native and current Union County resident Don Brown. 

Michael Whatley has been groomed and well-taken care of by the Thom Tillis political operation and the rest of the NCGOPe.  He managed to get himself hired as the General Counsel of The Republican National Committee despite having an inactive law license for over six years. 

Meanwhile, Whatley’s opponent in the March primary, Don Brown, has been putting his law license to good use. The UNC-Chapel Hill and Campbell Law grad served as an active-duty member of the Navy’s JAG Corps – made famous by a long-running hit TV show. Brown also served as a special assistant US attorney before moving on to work for Raleigh’s Maupin Taylor Ellis & Adams.  (Firm partner Tom Ellis gained fame as a senior adviser to the late US Senator Jesse Helms.)

Michael Whatley is part of the political machine that gave us Thom Tillis. He is President Trump’s choice, but President Trump will only be in office for three more years. I would rather have a Senator that represents the grass roots than one who is appointed by someone who does not live in the state.

Where Your Taxpayer Money Has Gone

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On Sunday, Just the News posted an article a federal task force tasked with tracking COVID-19 assistance fraud.

The article reports:

In a new investigation, a federal committee tasked with tracking COVID-19 assistance fraud found tens of thousands of dishonest or erroneous Paycheck Protection Program applications.

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) report, released this month, revealed more than 40,000 instances when applicants for more than $860 million in taxpayer-funded PPP loans “significantly misrepresented their incomes.”

The Small Business Administration, which distributed the PPP loans, allocated more than $1 trillion in taxpayer-funded pandemic assistance to more than 10 million small businesses.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office showed that nearly 2 million potentially fraudulent SBA applications – including the 40,000 PPP applications – still require investigation, as The Center Square reported.

PRAC said it achieved its findings by comparing the reported incomes of sole proprietor PPP applicants with the reported incomes of applicants for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) assistance grants using the same personally identifiable information.

Data analysts found “significant [income] misrepresentations…where the derived income for PPP applicants was at least 10 times greater than the income reported to HUD by housing assistance recipients.”

The article concludes:

Since the pandemic, when the federal government cumulatively spent $5 trillion in COVID-19 related aid, lawmakers and organizations have held oversight hearings into at least $200 billion lost to fraud, only $5 billion of which has been recovered.

Most of that fraud was preventable, according to PRAC and other watchdog groups.

“We hope that by sharing this potential fraud scheme with the public and the oversight community we can alert (1) Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) to be on the lookout for similar cross-program schemes, (2) program implementers to build better internal controls and checks upfront to mitigate this risk, and (3) policymakers to consider issues related to cross-agency risks including income verification,” PRAC concluded.

I realize that in terms of the overall budget, $5 billion is a drop in the bucket. However, there seem to have been a number of ‘drops in the bucket’ that were fraudulent. It is very obvious that the government needs much better oversight on how it spends its money.

To add to the story, The Daily Haymaker reported on Monday that the The Southern Coalition for Social Justice may have received funds from the Covid-19 assistance programs that they were not entitled to during the time that North Carolina Superior Court Judge Allison Riggs served as the organization’s “chief counsel for voting rights” and “co-executive director for programs.” The Daily Haymaker is looking for an explanation of why the funds were received when the math indicates the organization was not entitled to them.

Good News In North Carolina

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On Wednesday, The Daily Haymaker posted a list of some of the bills that had been vetoed by Governor Cooper that had those vetoes overridden by the North Carolina legislature. The vetoes were overturned as a result of public pressure on the legislators. This is a reminder of the importance of making your voice heard.

The article reports:

Raleigh insiders tell me the real story from today’s veto override bonanza was the intense public pressure.  Several of the vetoed bills, including:

were slated for legislative euthanasia, but were revived by intense public pressure.  Plenty of folks with votes on the floor got one hell of an earful.  If not for the public pressure, these bills would have stayed vetoed.  

The article concludes:

Far too many people believe that having the right letter (R or D) next to your name means you can be trusted to do the “right thing.”  WRONG.  Far too often, deep-pocketed special interests overrule our interests on some very important state policy decisions.  Far too often, all that cash wins the day.  These people are supposed to be OUR representatives.  Not the “representative” of their favorite well-paying lobbyist. 

The lesson here?  Stay on these people like you stay behind your own children.  We — and several others in the blogosphere and other parts of social media — do our best to keep you informed on key issues.  Stay informed, talk to your friends, and especially talk to the folks who show up on your ballot every two years purportedly to represent you.

It’s truly a shame that common sense stuff like this takes so much work to get done.

Pat yourselves on the back, folks.  Job well done.  But it’s far from over.  There is a lot of work left to do to save our state and our country.  

Please get involved. Your country needs you.

If You Voted For A Democrat In North Carolina, This Is What You Got

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Yesterday The Daily Haymaker posted an article about the vote in the General Assembly that failed to overturn Governor Cooper’s veto of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

This is the essence of the bill:

If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a legal person for all purposes under the laws of North Carolina and entitled to all the protections of such laws. Any infant born alive after an abortion or within a hospital, clinic, or other facility has the same claim to the protection of the law that would arise for any newborn, or for any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within its care.

By not overriding the Governor’s veto, the law has now declared that a living, breathing baby is not a legal person and is not entitled to the rights of a legal person. That is truly a dangerous place to be. You can make the argument that a baby in the womb is not a person (although scientifically that argument does not stand up), but how can you declare a living, breathing human being not a person? In the future are there going to be other living, breathing people who the legislation will declare do not have the rights of a legal person? This isn’t about abortion–this is about providing care for a living human being.

The article notes:

They’ll call you a bigot if you don’t want guys dressed like girls in the restroom or locker room with your wives or daughters. They’re also for stronger protections for barnyard animals than for newborn humans. Meet Wayne Goodwin’s Democrat Party, 2019 edition.

Common sense is obviously not a functioning part of the North Carolina Democrat party.

Good Deeds Rarely Go Unpunished

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In late February, H.R. 184 was introduced into the North Carolina House of Representatives. In early April, H.R. 184 made it to the North Carolina Senate where it was referred to the Committee On Rules and Operations of the Senate. There it sits. It’s a bad bill, catering to special interests, and need to die there.

So exactly what is H.R. 184? On April 4, 2019, Raynor James wrote an article describing the debate in the North Carolina House of Representatives over H.R. 184. In her article Raynor explained that H.R. 184 would tie the hands of State Treasurer Dale Folwell in dealing with the rapidly growing problems with the State Health Plan.

An article in The Daily Haymaker on March 26 explains some of what is going on:

Former state representative Dale Folwell (R) worked wonders in cleaning up the highly FUBAR-ed unemployment insurance system. You would think it would be a no-brainer to put him on fixing that money-bleeding nightmare known as the state health plan. (The plan made it to its current sorry state in no small part to the micro-managing mischief by legislators in both parties who saw it as their own personal piggy-bank and slush fund.)

So, along comes Dale Folwell trying to do exactly what the legislature empowered the state treasurer’s office to do years ago:  competently manage the state health plan.  Folwell decided taxpayers needed to understand exactly what  health care providers were billing the health plan FOR.

This did not sit well with the folks at the hospitals and clinics sending in those fat, vague, non-specific bills.  Armies of lobbyists were dispatched to spend dark money on ads smearing Folwell and his pricing transparency plan.  A lot of politician pockets were lined.  A bill got drafted (with a lot of lobbyist, um. “help”)  that tied Folwell’s hands on exactly what he could to in regard to the state health plan.

The bill, H184, got its first hearing in the House Health Committee today.  Conveniently, there was NO roll call vote on this expensive legislation — with a total cost over 3 years of $400 to 600 MILLION. 

The bill did get amended.  The time frame for the “study” on  changing the health plan was shortened. The state employees — who stand to be affected the most by this bill — got their representation on the “study committee” expanded from ONE to TWO.  (Isn’t that nice?)    And the whole package is still going to cost the taxpayers an additional $241 MILLION.

The article then explains the problem:

There was no real good reason to do this. It went against one of the alleged core principles of the majority party. The prime beneficiaries of the state health plan — the state employees — appear to be solidly behind what Folwell is doing. Taxpayers — seeking to avoid a $400-600 MILLION hit from doing NOTHING and “studying” the idea of reform — appear to be all for it.

But the deep-pocketed lobbyists who are so kind and compassionate to campaign accounts all over Jones Street were not happy and HAD to be mollified.

Some Republicans are fighting back. There was a Resolution at the North Carolina Third District Republican Convention today that backed Dale Folwell and his efforts to clean up the State Health Plan. The Resolution passed easily.

The Resolution included the following:

In 2008, expenses for the North Carolina State Health Plan were roughly $2.2 billion; today they are roughly $3.4 billion. Medical and pharmaceutical costs are increasing five to nine percent annually and current spending projections estimate that the plan will be insolvent by 2023 unless action is taken. The campaign to fix the state healthcare plan is opposed mainly by special interests–hospitals and those who profit by the inefficiency and inflated costs of medical care under the current system.

I was told that the bill would probably die in committee. I hope that happens. However, the fact that saving taxpayer money was opposed by special interest groups should not come as a shock to any of us. That fact underlines the need for citizens to stay aware of what our legislature is doing. North Carolina is in a strong position economically–it is a place where businesses relocate. If our State Health Plan is not brought under control, our taxes will increases to cover the cost of the program and we will be much less attractive to businesses looking for a place to be.

Why The Republican Party Is Losing Voters

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The 2016 Republican Platform includes the following on Page 8:

Reducing the Federal Debt

Our national debt is a burden on our economy and families. The huge increase in the national debt demanded by and incurred during the current Administration has placed a significant burden on future generations. We must impose firm caps on future debt, accelerate the repayment of the trillions we now owe in order to reaffirm our principles of responsible and limited government, and remove the burdens we are placing on future generations. A strong economy is one key to debt reduction, but spending restraint is a necessary component that must be vigorously pursued.

On May 10, 2018, CNS News reported:

The federal government collected a record $2,007,451,000,000 in total taxes through the first seven months of fiscal 2018 (October through April), but still ran a deficit for that period of $385,444,000,000, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement.

It’s the spending–not the revenue–that is the problem. So what are Republicans doing about it?

On May 8, 2018, The Washington Times posted the following:

House GOP leaders vowed Tuesday to speed President Trump’s new $15.4 billion spending cuts proposal through their chamber, brushing aside complaints from Democrats and some Republicans over the trims the White House wants to see.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday predicted the House will pass the package, which includes 38 cuts to programs and generally involves money that’s sitting unused.

So what happened when the bill reached the Senate?

The Daily Haymaker posted the story today:

Senators voted Wednesday to block President Trump’s $15.4 billion spending cuts package, with lawmakers saying it trimmed the budget too much.

Brushing aside administration promises that the cuts were chiefly to money that was never going to be spent, the Senate voted 50-48 to keep the bill bottled up. Two Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine and Richard Burr of North Carolina — joined Democrats to defeat the package.[…]

So if the Republicans won’t even cut spending on money that wasn’t even spent, why in the world should I vote for them? Didn’t they read their own platform? How long could you run up your credit card before creditors would start clamoring for their money? Is the government any different?

 

The Search For Honest Elections

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The Daily Haymaker posted a story on Saturday about voter irregularities in North Carolina. The watchdog group Judicial Watch has decided to hold the state accountable for the integrity of its elections.

The article reports:

In the wake of an audit that found ineligible voters casting votes in the state’s 2016 elections, an advocacy group called Judicial Watch is stepping forward with a pretty serious demand for state elections officials:

Dear Director Strach:

We write to bring your attention to violations of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”) in North Carolina. From public records obtained, fifteen (15) counties in North Carolina have more total registered voters than adult citizens over the age of 18 living in that county as calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011-2015 American Community Survey. This is strong circumstantial evidence that these North Carolina counties are not conducting reasonable voter registration record maintenance as mandated under the NVRA. […]

This letter serves as statutory notice that Judicial Watch will bring a lawsuit against your office if you do not take specific actions to correct these violations of Section 8 within 90 days. In addition, by this letter we are asking you to produce certain records to us which you are required to make available under Section 8(i) of the NVRA. We hope that litigation will not be necessary to enforce either of these claims.

The letter also notes that North Carolina is not in compliance with voter registration list maintenance requirements. In fifteen counties in the state there are more total registered voters than adult citizens over the age of eighteen. Those counties include Buncombe (registration rate 101 %), Camden (100% ), Chatham (101 % ), Cherokee ( 100% ), Clay (106% ), Dare ( 107% ), Durham ( 111 % ), Guilford ( 101 % ), Madison ( 100% ), Mecklenburg ( 108% ), New Hanover (101 %), Orange (111 %), Union (106%), Watauga (105%), and Yancey (104%). When I looked at the results of the 2016 election in those counties, they were mixed–about half voted for Donald Trump and about half voted for Hillary Clinton. Hopefully, if there was cheating, it did not impact the outcome.

Judicial Watch is a successful watchdog organization. I hope that their efforts in North Carolina will put other states on alert that they also need to clean up their voter rolls.