Primary Lessons: Opportunity Is Straight Ahead

I just heard a line from The Hometown Holler podcast that pretty much sums up this week’s primary: “What just happened in North Carolina is wild!”

I’ve noticed a few wild things about our local primary, too, things that make me feel excited about November. 

Here are a few:

• Roy Cooper’s blowout win. While we knew he would prevail, the numbers are astounding.

• This year in Henderson County, the number of Democratic ballots pulled is up almost 100 percent while the number of GOP ballots is down approximately 37 percent. (This is based on the Senate Primary and compared to 2022, the last time we had a primary for a US Senate seat.)

• Many of these Blue ballots were from Unaffiliated Voters, who chose a Democratic primary ballot even though Henderson County had two County Commissioner seats decided in the GOP primary. Our goal of improving engagement with Unaffiliated Voters is clearly on target.

• Our volunteers were awesome. I am deeply grateful for the work our poll greeters and observers did to create a safe and welcoming experience for voters. The contrast between our team and the Republicans was noticeable. Thank you all—we will need your expertise and enthusiasm going forward.

• Thank you, candidates! In the NC11 Primary, we had five very different candidates who all had important things to say, and they inspired people to pay attention and get involved. Even the candidates who didn’t win helped shape the race by driving engagement and awareness.

What Now? 

I know I don’t have to tell anyone how important the November midterms will be. The news reminds us every day. 

This week's primary gave us two important things: practice and momentum.

We need to build on what we’ve learned. We need to get even more volunteers to be poll greeters. We need to keep working on organizing our precincts. We need to connect even more with our community, whether they are Democrats, Unaffiliated Voters or even Republicans who don’t recognize their party anymore. 

And we need to build on our momentum with a united front. We have to make a conscious effort to not let anything divide us, especially since MAGA Republicans are the grand masters of division.

I hope you will join us as we come together and build community through our ongoing events. Find out what roles are good for you. Let us know if you have a great idea. And if we could do something better, please let me know that, too.

I look forward to hearing from you! 

All the best, Linda