July 25, 2025 • 35 mins
NC GOP Chairman Michael Whatley is expected to announce a run for U.S. Senate. Lawmakers return July 29 to consider veto overrides. North Carolina extends incentives to Eco King Solutions LLC and will host a new USDA regional hub under federal restructuring.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
It's five oh five and welcome into a Friday edition
of the Carolina Journal News Hour News Talk eleven, ten
ninety nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning
to you. North Carolina politics have been in the national
spotlight a lot over the last couple of weeks. Just
before the turn of the month, US Senator Tom Tillis announced,
after his two terms in the United States Senate he
(00:30):
was not running for reelection. That of course, echoed through
political circles, and over the last couple of days of
the rumor mill has been flying as it does appear
that both former governor Democrat Governor Roy Cooper and current
RNC Chairman Michael Wattley are setting the stage for a
major North Carolina Senate race coming up next year. To
walk us through some of the details and implications of that,
(00:52):
it's my pleasure to welcome David Larson from Carolina Journal
dot com on the News Hour this morning. David, it
has been a busy couple of days in North Carolin
lot of politics. What do you make of everything going on?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, I'd say the Cooper announcement may be less of
a mystery to people. That seems like more of a
certain thing that everybody assumed he would be announcing that
at some point. But the Wantley one, there was a
couple things in the air there. For example, people wondered
if Laura Trump, there's both those names are being floated together,
(01:24):
one of them will will run. And it appears that
at least in the Politico article that they had a
couple sources say that Laura Trump had decided not to
and that's why it seemed like it had been down
to those two and now they can move forward. And
it also said that it would have a Trump endorsement
(01:44):
this Earth game. So I guess my big takeaway is
these are kind of field clearing announcements and that I'm
not sure there's much of a primary to be had
if these two hold in their current landscape. Apes you know,
there's always surprises in politics. But Cooper, he's been getting
(02:05):
a lot of pressure from the national Democrats and for
people in the state to run, and he's won. He's
won six state wide races in a row. None of
them have been federal. But you know, he's very well
known across the country, across the state, i should say,
and so he's been seen as the strongest contender there,
and when Wiley Nickel, former congressman, had the audacity to
(02:27):
throw his name in, he got a lot of blowback
from other Democrats who it seems have been holding that
position as Cooper's position. So that clears the field a
little bit, seems like, on the Democrat side, and then
a similar thing on the Republican side. In that Wattley,
Michael Wattley, you know, he was the state GOP chair
(02:49):
and then he's the national you know, the RNC chair,
So he has that establishment wing and all the fundraising
and all the you know, the players on that side
pretty locked down. But then he also with the Trump endorsement,
would have sort of the MAGA wing. People talk about
these two wings that in the Trump era he has
enough power over the party in some sense that maybe
there's not a huge distinction at all times. But you know,
(03:11):
it seems as if there's not really a clear lane
somebody could pick to edge Wiley out. So I guess
my take at the moment is they seem like sort
of feel clearing announcements and if there's not huge news,
something doesn't get drummed up on either of these two,
which I doubt because they've both been politics for a
(03:33):
fairly long time and Oppo researchers have been digging into them.
I'm sure for a long time that probably this is
this will be the general election, and before even announcement
on candidacies has happened, that this is is probably Wattley
Cooper and it's probably going to be a record of spending.
(03:57):
And so I guess that's, you know, not to jump
ahead of any other questions, but I think that might
be one of the reasons why Trump would have leaned
on on Wiley, is if it's going to potentially be
the most expensive US Senate race in history. Wiley is
very plugged into the statewide donor networks and also to
national ones from his position and chairs, so I think
(04:21):
that would be some of his thinking, at least there off.
So the close personal relationship on professional relationship, I'm sure they.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Have well, And let's look at the money side of it,
because that's an important part of it, and this is
something typically that the GOP deals with more than the
Democrats most of the time. Democrats are pretty good at
clearing that primary field. Some social media postings Thursday from
Wiley Nickel indicate he is going to stay in that race.
Not sure how serious of a contender will actually be.
(04:49):
But David, as we look at past Republican primaries, those
can not only get very nasty, but very expensive, causing
who ends up whoever ends up winning that primary to
have to deplete the war chest pretty handedly just to
get through a March primary and then of course battle
against a Democrat as you go towards the general election
in November. Doesn't seem like that's going to happen now,
(05:10):
So that seems like a win for both sides, more
particularly the GOP that tends to have these really brutal
and nasty primaries as of late across North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
And I think that's one advantage. You know, some may
have quibbles with Trump being such a powerful head of
the party, but one advantage of that is that he
really can do that like with Addison McDowell, or with
Beau Hines, or you know, with Ted budd or whoever,
he can look at these primaries and say, we would
rather save our money, keep our powder drive for the general.
(05:42):
And so he'll kind of put his thumb on the scales,
is full weight on the scales, and often you'll see
somebody like, you know, maybe Mark Walker gett an offer
to do something else if they hang around a little longer.
And so I think this kind of heads that off
before it even starts, because you know, they haven't at
any major announcements candidate filing I believe in December, so
(06:04):
that's all headed off before it starts, and you can
just have Wiley as the presumed nominee and kind of
a if anybody wants to challenge that, they'd be maybe
challenging the entire establishment all the way up to Donald Trump.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
So yeah, no question about it. Pretty clearing of the
primary on both sides. Again, as of right now, David,
I like what you said earlier, nothing is certain in politics.
But again with all of the information we have now
both of them neither of officially announced, but again rumors
and speculation and inside sources from both camps seem to
indicate it's pretty much a done deal over the next
(06:39):
seven to fourteen days when those official announcements will come out.
You know, we looked at Roy Cooper's favorability rating back
at our Carolina Journal poll back in the month of May,
and it's very high. His approval ratings around forty seven
percent across the state of North Carolina. But David he
does have some pretty big controversies, including COVID lockdown and
(07:00):
shut downs ENCORE the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency.
The media has played a very good cover for the
former governor on a lot of these bigger issues. Do
you think those will be some of the main things
that come up in this Democrat versus Republican race that
we're going to see start unfolding.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
I did. I think they might, you know, try out
a couple of messages and see what lands. What's interesting
is with the COVID one. You know, as conservatives, we
look back on that and we think we can see
pretty clearly these mistakes that were made with oh, everybody
needs to wear a mask, everybody needs to social distance,
everybody you know needs to get the vaccine. It will
prevent you, they said, from getting COVID, and we now
(07:39):
know all of that was based on very shaky at
best science. But what's been interesting to me is a
lot of the polling has given a lot of these
measures has been kind of surprising because then the benefit
of the doubt, you know, So I've been sort of
surprised to see that it does. It isn't always a
very favorable thing on Cooper's favorability on COVID was often
(08:01):
really high, and so I think maybe people, you know,
we're all confused, and they give people kind of the
benefit of dout because we're trying to figure it out,
even though it can seem pretty clear to a lot
of conservatives that, you know, these are bad decisions. I
wonder if, even though that's true, that they might not
end up landing on that messaging just because Cooper somehow
(08:21):
maintained a good perspective of people's perspective on that issue.
But there are encore I think is one for sure
that could come into play. I would even be interested.
Some of the politics has changed on something like the
transgender bathroom stuff that you know, Cooper was able to
hit McCrory with and get into office almost running against
(08:43):
North Carolina business at one level saying we should boycott
you know. I mean, he didn't say we should boycott,
but it was sort of during that campaign of Cooper
versus McCrory, there was a lot of that that talk
about boycotts, and that wasn't pushed back on much by
the Democratic establishment. So it seems like the politics on
that has shifted now to the point where House Built
(09:04):
eight oh five is probably going to get over ridden
this week. And that's a built that would declare male
and female the two official genders of the state. And
you know, it seems like politics has changed on that.
So who knows. Maybe some of the stuff that looks
like strength might be a weakness and vice versa. But
I think they'll test out a bunch of those messages.
And Wattley, you know, he's a little bit more of
(09:26):
I don't think he has obviously the name ID that
Cooper does, but he has some name I d and
he's been in all one hundred counties quite a bit traveling.
But he also doesn't have maybe the baggage that one
gets as four terms of attorney General and two terms
as governor. He's a little bit you know, whoever can
(09:46):
define him first, maybe we will be a major advantage.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Well, continue the discussion with David Larson from the Carolina
Journal coming up after this. You're listening to the Carolina
Journal News Hour. It's five twenty one. Welcome back to
the Carolina Journal news Our news Stock eleven ten ninety
nine to three WBT. As we round out this week
(10:12):
and look towards next, the North Carolina Senate and House
will reconvene that's coming up on Tuesday, July the twenty ninth,
aiming to override multiple vetos issued by Governor Josh Stein.
Stein took office in January of this year, and to
this point has had a pretty good relationship with the
North Carolina Legislature up until the last couple of months
(10:34):
or so, when the governor vetoed more than vetoed exactly
fourteen bills from the Republican led General Assembly. Each chamber
will review seven of those vetos, sending them across to
the other chamber if they are overridden. Senate Leader Phil Berger,
the Republican out of Rockingham County, sharply criticized Stein's veto
(10:55):
in a press release this week, saying, by vetoing these
common sense bills, Ounor Stein confirms that he is out
of touch with the people of North Carolina. He tolerates criminal,
illegal aliens roaming our streets, divisive DEI concepts in our schools,
and government infringing on our Second Amendment rights. I look
(11:15):
forward to leading Senate Republicans and overriding these harmful vetos
and putting at North Carolina families first. With Republicans holding
a supermajority in the North Carolina Senate, shouldn't have much
of a problem there. However, in the North Carolina House
they are one vote shy of that supermajority, so overriding
Stein's veto will not only require full attendance, but support
(11:39):
from at least one House Democrat. House Speaker Deston Hall
posted on his ex account this week quote, we will
override Nce Governor's reckless vetos and defeat common sense in
North Carolina. Who's ready? That's the commentary there from House
Speaker Deston Hall. The General Assembly will be back in
Raleigh next week. It will be a busy. We'll keep
(12:00):
you up to date with all the details right here
on the Carolina Journal News Hour, and of course breaking
news coverage as always on our website, Carolina Journal dot com,
where it's now five point twenty three News Talk eleven,
ten ninety nine to three WBT. Continuing our discussion this
morning with David Larson of Carolina Journal dot com about
what has been a busy couple of weeks in North
(12:22):
Carolina politics surrounding the United States Senate race coming up
next year. Michael Wiley. Yes, he was the former head
of the North Carolina Republican Party, now the head of
the Republican National Committee. He's never been a politician in
the traditional form of running for an elected position and
office and holding that position. Dave, do you see that
(12:42):
as a pro a con or kind of somewhere in
the middle, maybe yet to be determined.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
I think it's more yet to be determined, because you know,
if you get something baked in, sometimes it can be
really hard to move and so for better or worse,
if you're banked in, and sometimes with Trump that's the
case where his floor and his ceiling are almost right
next to each other. He's just baked in. People know
what they think of him, and so for a whiley
(13:09):
that might be he's maybe tagged in people's mind as
you know, being close to Trump, and so maybe that
would have whatever one thinks of Trump. When the midterms come,
that will be a major, you know issue is how
is everything? How is the economy? How how are people thinking?
Voters thinking about Trump, especially on affiliated voters that seem
to shift a little bit more than diehard partisans. But
(13:34):
then you know, if you don't have any history of
your own necessarily voting or you know, as an executive,
you could end up, you know, seeing a lot of
you know, good good benefit from that if you're able
to define yourself first and get out ahead of it.
And yeah, like I said, if people are thinking very
(13:54):
positively about Trump, you can try to pin yourself to that.
But if somebody you know doesn't have that background and
the other side gets there first, and maybe he can
define you in the in everybody's mind, they could be
successful at that. And that's what Nobody likes negative advertising,
but that's the point of it is if there's an
undefined candidate who there is wiggle room, they will try
(14:17):
to jump in there and define that person. And even
though people say they hate negative advertising, negative ads, it
actually works. That's why people do it. Is Okay, I've
seen You've seen this ad forty times and it annoys me.
But now I do kind of in my subconscious I
might have a negative association with So I'm sure that
will be a Democrat tactic. Whereas it'll be harder to
(14:40):
change people's mind on Cooper just because he has been
a fixture. So for better or worse there, but it
might be a battle to see who can define Whattley first.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Basically, let's look at this from the Democrats side of
the aisle for a second. Democrats have poured a lot
of money into North Carolina over the last couple of
not only midterm general election cycles, they have tried to
flip the state blue. To their credit, they were very
successful in the Josh Stein election last year. Kind of
a mixed bag on the Council of State. A Democrat
(15:11):
has not held the United States Senate se You've got
to go all the way back to two thousand and eight.
That's the last time that they were successful in winning
a Senate see David. They keep trying to inch away
at North Carolina. I think many would argue, for the
most part, they've been relatively unsuccessful. This is a tough,
uphill battle for Democrats as well.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
You know, I'm I'm convincable on that either way, I guess,
because I do see. You could say things too about
state wide races, like the Republicans haven't won attorney general
race since the eighteen hundreds, you know, or so It's
unclear to me exactly why North Carolina voters both the
way they do, but they often split tickets. It could
(15:54):
be said maybe that for federal races, something like US Senate,
like you said, hasn't gone Democrats way in a while,
that they they're making a you know, strategic, very conscious
decision to vote more conservative for federal races and more
Democrat for a lot of these state wide races for
(16:14):
governor and attorney general. I'm not totally sure on that.
I'm not sure your average voter is really thinking of
of that, or if they're just saying, I like this person,
I like that, And we haven't necessarily seen Democrats run
a really strong candidate for state for US Senate in
a while, and maybe this is this is a good
(16:36):
test of that to see if there really is a
North Carolina voter strategy there that that's why you know,
things go one way for federal races, another way for
state races. But regardless, it should be extremely close, I imagine,
and because when there are good candidates on both sides,
whether you're talking to a state wide race or a
(16:57):
federal race, I want to say, d D you know,
state level race, you can see extremely close races even
you know there state Supreme Court where it just comes
down to a couple hundred people, I believe on two
different occasions, one this Jefferson Griffin one and also the
Sherry Beasley one from a little bit ago. Also I
(17:18):
think they came down to four hundred voters. So these
state wide races are tough to get inside voter's mind necessarily.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah, And I mean you look at the last Senate
race where Tom Tillis was on the ballot. He won
by less than one and a half percentage points. Ted
Budd Beating winning his race back in twenty twenty two
by about two and a half percentage points, so relatively
close races. Dave, final question for you this morning, Again,
no official announcements yet, we expect those in the next
week or two. But how quickly do you think things
(17:49):
actually kick off and hit the ground as we head
into the first month of August. Typically these campaigns kind
of lag. As you mentioned, campaign filing doesn't really even
start until the month of December, the first week of December.
Do you think that this campaign and that these races
are gonna be shot out of a cannon as soon
as both of these candidates officially announce and it'll be
(18:10):
you know, a sprint to the finish line in November
of next year.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
I do. I think, you know, as we're saying about
the primaries, they're trying to kind of clear the field.
So anybody thinking about it now, you know that you're
gonna be going up against the entire establishment of your party.
And then once the they're announced in full, they're gonna
form committees and you know, unofficially be just just just
really hitting the ground running. And and it's gonna be
(18:38):
at that point, yeah, once filing happens, and then once
the campaigns get going, if it is just Cooper and
Wattley mainly without any major contenders in the primary, they're
gonna be just raising money as much as they can
and focusing on each other from the very beginning. It's
probably gonna get really nasty. There's gonna be adds up
really early. There's gonna be a a pulling that we're
(19:00):
gonna do with Carolina Journal. There's gonna be a lot of
analysis and and you're gonna see, yeah, in research on
two people that have already been you know, their backgrounds.
I'm sure Ben come through, but it's going to be
you know, full full throttle full you know after the
races immediately and you know it'd be be an exciting
one to watch for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Yeah, and again we'll be keeping an eye on this
store for almost the next year and a half. We
appreciate the details. This morning, David Larson from Carolina Journal
dot com joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
It's five thirty seven. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
(19:42):
News Hour. Newstalk eleven ten ninety nine three WBT. Earlier
this week, Governor Josh Stein announced that Eco Kings Solutions LLC,
a Chinese manufacturer of disposable biodegradable tablewear, will receive a
state incentive package in exchange for investing over eighty million
(20:03):
dollars and creating five hundred and fifteen jobs in Robinsville
that's located in Graham County, North Carolina. The governor said
in a press release, quote, North Carolina offers global companies
a perfect location for expansion into North America. We welcome
Eco king to western North Carolina, where it will find
(20:25):
a welcoming business climate, education and workforce programs tailored to
its needs, as well as a full range of competitive
advantages that make North Carolina, the top state in the
business the top state to do business in the country,
according to a press release. Ecoking Solutions is a subsidiary
of a larger Chinese company that was founded in two
(20:48):
thousand and eight and employees more than twelve hundred people
across three high capacity factories in mainland China. The company
manufactures disposable dishware, including bowls, plates, clamshell containers and trays,
commonly used in supermarkets and across diverse food the diverse
food service sector. The company aims to localize production, streamlining
(21:11):
its supply chain, and significantly reduce its internal shipping costs
and production lead times by establishing that new facility here
in North Carolina. Ping Zang, the chairman of Eco A
King's Solutions, said in a press release quote, we have
been impressed with how welcoming Robinsonville, Graham County, and North
Carolina have been to our company and this important project.
(21:36):
We worked very hard to find the right location for
our business to thrive. We know we found it right
here due to the excellent workforce, quality of life, and
friendly business climate. We are excited to be part of
the community and we are excited for our company to
prosper here. The project will receive a partial support through
a Job Development Investment grant that's also known as a
(21:58):
JDIG grant, which was approved earlier this week by the
North Carolina Department of Commerce's Economic Investment Committee. According to
the committee's evaluation, the project could contribute more than seven
hundred and forty three million dollars to the state's economy
over the twelve year duration of the grant. They used
a formula that factors in tax revenue, newly created jobs,
(22:22):
and associated capital investments, ultimately reaching a JDIG agreement allows
for the potential reimbursement of up to two point eight
million dollars in state tax money to the company, distributed
over a twelve year period. These state payments would only
be made after the Department of Commerce and Revenue confirm
(22:42):
that the company has met its job creation and investment benchmarks.
And While wages will vary depending on position, the average
salary is set to be around forty six thousand, seven
hundred dollars a year, which is comparable with the average
salary in Graham County, which is forty six thousand, six
hundred dollars a year and generating an annual payroll impact
(23:03):
of around fourteen million dollars a year. Brian Balfour, the
vice president of Research at the John Locke Foundation, told
The Carolina Journal in a quote, it's somewhat amazing that
the state continues to engage in these politicized tax breaks
when the track record of JAYDIG is examined. An evaluation
(23:24):
of the program by the John Locke Foundation last summer
found that nearly half of JDIG projects were terminated or
withdrawn without meeting hiring goals, and previously researched previous research
had found that more than a third of such projects
failed to create even a single job. He noted, instead
(23:44):
of trying to instead of trying to centrally direct North
Carolina's economy by granting selective privileges to connected businesses, the
state should focus on across the board tax relief for
all job creators, along with regular Tory relief to cut
down on burdensome red tape. In twenty twenty two, another
(24:05):
Chinese based company known as Triangle Tire canceled a partnership
with Edgecombe County and the Carolina Gateway Partnership to build
a tire factory in the Kingsboro business park. That's according
to the Rocky Mount Telegram. Triangle Tire stated that the
decision was driven by various business challenges, prompting company leadership
(24:27):
in China to discontinue the project and refocus efforts on
meeting business priorities within the mainland of China. So Jaydig
continues to be and have a less than stellar track
record as we continue to track the details across the
state of North Carolina. However, with that, the North Carolina
Department of Commerce continues to issue these Jaydig grants. You
(24:50):
can read some additional details on this story, plus the
more large scale discussion over jaydig and some of our
previous research. That's all available this morning on our website
to Carolina Journal dot com. Turning our attention to some
other statewide news this morning, Raleigh has been named one
of five new US Department of Agriculture Hub locations. This
(25:13):
is part of a nationwide restructuring plan announced by Secretary
Brook Rollins this week as the agency aims to move
closer to the communities that it serves. The Secretary said
in a press release, American agriculture feeds clothes and fuels
this nation and the world, and it's long pastime that
(25:34):
the Department better served the great and patriotic farmers, ranchers,
and producers we are mandated to support. President Trump was
elected to make real changes in Washington, and we're doing
just that by moving our key services outside the Beltway
and into great American cities across the country. We will
(25:55):
do so through a transparent and common sense process that
preserves us DA DA's critical health and public safety service
that the American people rely on. We will do right
by the great American people who serve and with respect
to the thousands of hard working USDA employees who so
notably serve their country as well, to bring the USDA
(26:17):
closer to the people it supports and provide a more
reliable and affordable cost of living to government employees. USDA
says it has developed a plan to relocate a significant
portion of the agency's headquarter and National Capital Region staff
to five hub locations across the country, with Raleigh being
(26:38):
chosen as one of those five. The other four locations
include Kansas City, Missouri, Indianapolis, Indiana, Fort Collins, Colorado, and
Salt Lake City, Utah. The USDA's reorganization is built around
four key pillars of the First, it aims to ensure
that the size of USDA's workforce is appropriately all lined
(27:00):
with its available financial resources and the nation's agricultural priorities. Second,
it seeks to bring USDA closer to its customers, enhancing
responsiveness and service delivery. The third pillar the reorganization is
designed to eliminate excessive management layers and reduce a bureaucratic
(27:21):
obstacles that often hinder efficiency. And finally, it intends to
consolidate redundant support functions to streamline operations and improve overall effectiveness.
Critical functions of USDA will continue without interruption. It is
in the height of fire season and USDA has exceeded
(27:42):
hiring goals and maintained the ability to continue hiring. This
contrasts with North Carolina, which is, as it stands this year,
the nation's number one state at risk for wildfires. North
Carolina does have two active fire seasons, one in the
spring one in the fall. Steve Troxil, the commissioner of
the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, emphasized
(28:06):
to state lawmakers earlier this year that the department is
overworked and understaffed, with more than three hundred open positions,
including one hundred directly in the North Carolina Forest Service Division.
Earlier this year, Brook Rollins, the Secretary of USDA, issued
a memorandum exempting national security and public safety positions from
(28:29):
a federal hiring freeze. Fifty two positions Class fifty two
position classifications performed duties essential to the safety and security
of the American people, which includes national forest as well
as safety and inspections of the nation's agricultural and food
supply systems. Over the past four years, USDA has expanded
(28:51):
its workforce by eight percent, accompanied with a fourteen and
a half percent increase in employee salaries. This growth includes
hiring thousands of employees without a clear long term funding strategy.
Despite these increases, there have been no measurable improvements to
the delivery of service to USDA's primary stakeholders within the
(29:12):
agricultural community. Additionally, the agency set its presence in the
National Capital Region remains underutilized and redundant, marked by excessive spending,
prolonged mismanagement, and costly deferred maintenance. They note that it
aligns with President Trump's directive for increased accountability across government
(29:33):
agency and This comprehensive review of USDA painted a picture
of an organization burdened by inefficiencies, high costs, and unstable
operational models. The reorganization is part of USDA's process of
reducing its workforce and ensuring that the agency can continue
to afford the workers that it does have. A Significant
(29:55):
portion of this reduction was achieved through voluntary retiredment and
the Deferred Retirement Program as an optional initiative. USDA currently
employees around forty six hundred individuals one of the most
expensive areas in the country in Washington, d C, with
a federal salary locality rate of thirty three point nine percent.
(30:18):
When selecting new hub locations, the USDA considered the existing
distribution of its workforce, the regional cost of living factors,
and although Washington, d C will continue to support operations
across all USDA mission areas, following the reorganization, USDA anticipates
that no more than two thousand employees will remain at
(30:39):
their headquarters in Washington, d C. This is pretty big news,
and not only for Raleigh, but the state of North Carolina.
Additional coverage over on our website Carolina Journal dot com.
The headline nced to become home of USDA Hub under
restructuring fifty three. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour,
(31:02):
Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine three WBT. It has been
a busy week here on the Carolina Journal News Hour
and across the state of North Carolina. Of course, the
two big rumors that we continue to track this morning
all but official at this point. Former Democrat Governor Roy
Cooper is set to enter the race for United States
Senate that could happen as early as next week. And
(31:24):
of course, earlier this morning talking with David Larson from
Carolina Journal dot com about Michael Wattley, the former head
of the North Carolina Republican Party now head of the
Republican National Committee, set to enter the North Carolina Senate
race on the Republican side of the isle. Laura Trump,
of course, was the one of the names that was
(31:45):
thrown around as a front runner in this race. However,
she did take to exit yesterday to discuss this and
say to quote, after much consideration and heartfelt discussion with
my family, friends and supporters, I've decided not to pursue
the United States Senate seat in North Carolina at this
time I am deeply grateful for the encouragement and support
(32:08):
I have received from the people of my home state,
who I love so much. While I'm not running in
this election, my passion for making America great again burns brightly,
and I look forward to the future whatever that leads.
So that that's Laura Trump officially bowing out of the race,
Michael Wattley being presumably being tapped as that candidate. President Trump,
(32:30):
firing off a truth social post last night around at
eight point thirty, is endorsing Michael Wattley for the position, saying,
in part, Mike would make an unbelievable Senator from North Carolina.
He is fantastic at everything he does, and he was
certainly great at the RNC. In the presidential election, we
(32:51):
won every swing state, the popular vote, and the Electoral
College by a landslide. But I have a mission for
my friends in North care and that is to get
Michael Wattley to run for the United States Senate. He
is strong on the border, stopping crime, supporting our military
and veterans, cutting taxes, and saving are always under siege
(33:12):
Second Amendment. I need him in Washington, and I need
him representing you. He will never let you down. That
is a part of the endorsement post last night on
truth Social from President Donald Trump. We are expecting both
of those announcements both Stein excuse me, both Cooper and
former NCGOPA chairman to Michael Wattley in the next week
(33:36):
or two. Will of course keep our eyes on that.
In another stories that we are tracking as we head
into next week, both the House and the Senate, both
republicly are both controlled by Republicans, will be back in
Raleigh next week after their July recess. They are expected
to head back to the Capitol on Tuesday, aiming to
(33:58):
override fourteen vetos that Governor Josh Stein has already veto stamped.
This early into his relationship with the General Assembly, there
are a litany of bills that the governor has vetoed,
many of them dealing with DEI both in public education
and higher education, dealing with border security, constitutional carry, some
(34:22):
privacy laws as well defining men and women in North Carolina,
powers for the state Auditor, as well as the Rains Act,
which is something that we've talked about a lot over
the last couple of months. The lawmakers are expected to
be back to deal with those veto overrides. Republicans have
that veto super majority threshold in the Senate. They are
(34:46):
one vote shy in the House, so it's going to
be an interesting process to watch unfold. We will have
our eyes on the Capitol as we head into next
week right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. That's
going to do it for a Friday edition. WBT News
is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with
you Monday morning, five to six right here on Newstalk eleven,
(35:07):
ten and ninety nine three WBT
It's five oh five and welcome into a Friday edition
of the Carolina Journal News Hour News Talk eleven, ten
ninety nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning
to you. North Carolina politics have been in the national
spotlight a lot over the last couple of weeks. Just
before the turn of the month, US Senator Tom Tillis announced,
after his two terms in the United States Senate he
(00:30):
was not running for reelection. That of course, echoed through
political circles, and over the last couple of days of
the rumor mill has been flying as it does appear
that both former governor Democrat Governor Roy Cooper and current
RNC Chairman Michael Wattley are setting the stage for a
major North Carolina Senate race coming up next year. To
walk us through some of the details and implications of that,
(00:52):
it's my pleasure to welcome David Larson from Carolina Journal
dot com on the News Hour this morning. David, it
has been a busy couple of days in North Carolin
lot of politics. What do you make of everything going on?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, I'd say the Cooper announcement may be less of
a mystery to people. That seems like more of a
certain thing that everybody assumed he would be announcing that
at some point. But the Wantley one, there was a
couple things in the air there. For example, people wondered
if Laura Trump, there's both those names are being floated together,
(01:24):
one of them will will run. And it appears that
at least in the Politico article that they had a
couple sources say that Laura Trump had decided not to
and that's why it seemed like it had been down
to those two and now they can move forward. And
it also said that it would have a Trump endorsement
(01:44):
this Earth game. So I guess my big takeaway is
these are kind of field clearing announcements and that I'm
not sure there's much of a primary to be had
if these two hold in their current landscape. Apes you know,
there's always surprises in politics. But Cooper, he's been getting
(02:05):
a lot of pressure from the national Democrats and for
people in the state to run, and he's won. He's
won six state wide races in a row. None of
them have been federal. But you know, he's very well
known across the country, across the state, i should say,
and so he's been seen as the strongest contender there,
and when Wiley Nickel, former congressman, had the audacity to
(02:27):
throw his name in, he got a lot of blowback
from other Democrats who it seems have been holding that
position as Cooper's position. So that clears the field a
little bit, seems like, on the Democrat side, and then
a similar thing on the Republican side. In that Wattley,
Michael Wattley, you know, he was the state GOP chair
(02:49):
and then he's the national you know, the RNC chair,
So he has that establishment wing and all the fundraising
and all the you know, the players on that side
pretty locked down. But then he also with the Trump endorsement,
would have sort of the MAGA wing. People talk about
these two wings that in the Trump era he has
enough power over the party in some sense that maybe
there's not a huge distinction at all times. But you know,
(03:11):
it seems as if there's not really a clear lane
somebody could pick to edge Wiley out. So I guess
my take at the moment is they seem like sort
of feel clearing announcements and if there's not huge news,
something doesn't get drummed up on either of these two,
which I doubt because they've both been politics for a
(03:33):
fairly long time and Oppo researchers have been digging into them.
I'm sure for a long time that probably this is
this will be the general election, and before even announcement
on candidacies has happened, that this is is probably Wattley
Cooper and it's probably going to be a record of spending.
(03:57):
And so I guess that's, you know, not to jump
ahead of any other questions, but I think that might
be one of the reasons why Trump would have leaned
on on Wiley, is if it's going to potentially be
the most expensive US Senate race in history. Wiley is
very plugged into the statewide donor networks and also to
national ones from his position and chairs, so I think
(04:21):
that would be some of his thinking, at least there off.
So the close personal relationship on professional relationship, I'm sure they.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Have well, And let's look at the money side of it,
because that's an important part of it, and this is
something typically that the GOP deals with more than the
Democrats most of the time. Democrats are pretty good at
clearing that primary field. Some social media postings Thursday from
Wiley Nickel indicate he is going to stay in that race.
Not sure how serious of a contender will actually be.
(04:49):
But David, as we look at past Republican primaries, those
can not only get very nasty, but very expensive, causing
who ends up whoever ends up winning that primary to
have to deplete the war chest pretty handedly just to
get through a March primary and then of course battle
against a Democrat as you go towards the general election
in November. Doesn't seem like that's going to happen now,
(05:10):
So that seems like a win for both sides, more
particularly the GOP that tends to have these really brutal
and nasty primaries as of late across North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
And I think that's one advantage. You know, some may
have quibbles with Trump being such a powerful head of
the party, but one advantage of that is that he
really can do that like with Addison McDowell, or with
Beau Hines, or you know, with Ted budd or whoever,
he can look at these primaries and say, we would
rather save our money, keep our powder drive for the general.
(05:42):
And so he'll kind of put his thumb on the scales,
is full weight on the scales, and often you'll see
somebody like, you know, maybe Mark Walker gett an offer
to do something else if they hang around a little longer.
And so I think this kind of heads that off
before it even starts, because you know, they haven't at
any major announcements candidate filing I believe in December, so
(06:04):
that's all headed off before it starts, and you can
just have Wiley as the presumed nominee and kind of
a if anybody wants to challenge that, they'd be maybe
challenging the entire establishment all the way up to Donald Trump.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
So yeah, no question about it. Pretty clearing of the
primary on both sides. Again, as of right now, David,
I like what you said earlier, nothing is certain in politics.
But again with all of the information we have now
both of them neither of officially announced, but again rumors
and speculation and inside sources from both camps seem to
indicate it's pretty much a done deal over the next
(06:39):
seven to fourteen days when those official announcements will come out.
You know, we looked at Roy Cooper's favorability rating back
at our Carolina Journal poll back in the month of May,
and it's very high. His approval ratings around forty seven
percent across the state of North Carolina. But David he
does have some pretty big controversies, including COVID lockdown and
(07:00):
shut downs ENCORE the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency.
The media has played a very good cover for the
former governor on a lot of these bigger issues. Do
you think those will be some of the main things
that come up in this Democrat versus Republican race that
we're going to see start unfolding.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
I did. I think they might, you know, try out
a couple of messages and see what lands. What's interesting
is with the COVID one. You know, as conservatives, we
look back on that and we think we can see
pretty clearly these mistakes that were made with oh, everybody
needs to wear a mask, everybody needs to social distance,
everybody you know needs to get the vaccine. It will
prevent you, they said, from getting COVID, and we now
(07:39):
know all of that was based on very shaky at
best science. But what's been interesting to me is a
lot of the polling has given a lot of these
measures has been kind of surprising because then the benefit
of the doubt, you know, So I've been sort of
surprised to see that it does. It isn't always a
very favorable thing on Cooper's favorability on COVID was often
(08:01):
really high, and so I think maybe people, you know,
we're all confused, and they give people kind of the
benefit of dout because we're trying to figure it out,
even though it can seem pretty clear to a lot
of conservatives that, you know, these are bad decisions. I
wonder if, even though that's true, that they might not
end up landing on that messaging just because Cooper somehow
(08:21):
maintained a good perspective of people's perspective on that issue.
But there are encore I think is one for sure
that could come into play. I would even be interested.
Some of the politics has changed on something like the
transgender bathroom stuff that you know, Cooper was able to
hit McCrory with and get into office almost running against
(08:43):
North Carolina business at one level saying we should boycott
you know. I mean, he didn't say we should boycott,
but it was sort of during that campaign of Cooper
versus McCrory, there was a lot of that that talk
about boycotts, and that wasn't pushed back on much by
the Democratic establishment. So it seems like the politics on
that has shifted now to the point where House Built
(09:04):
eight oh five is probably going to get over ridden
this week. And that's a built that would declare male
and female the two official genders of the state. And
you know, it seems like politics has changed on that.
So who knows. Maybe some of the stuff that looks
like strength might be a weakness and vice versa. But
I think they'll test out a bunch of those messages.
And Wattley, you know, he's a little bit more of
(09:26):
I don't think he has obviously the name ID that
Cooper does, but he has some name I d and
he's been in all one hundred counties quite a bit traveling.
But he also doesn't have maybe the baggage that one
gets as four terms of attorney General and two terms
as governor. He's a little bit you know, whoever can
(09:46):
define him first, maybe we will be a major advantage.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Well, continue the discussion with David Larson from the Carolina
Journal coming up after this. You're listening to the Carolina
Journal News Hour. It's five twenty one. Welcome back to
the Carolina Journal news Our news Stock eleven ten ninety
nine to three WBT. As we round out this week
(10:12):
and look towards next, the North Carolina Senate and House
will reconvene that's coming up on Tuesday, July the twenty ninth,
aiming to override multiple vetos issued by Governor Josh Stein.
Stein took office in January of this year, and to
this point has had a pretty good relationship with the
North Carolina Legislature up until the last couple of months
(10:34):
or so, when the governor vetoed more than vetoed exactly
fourteen bills from the Republican led General Assembly. Each chamber
will review seven of those vetos, sending them across to
the other chamber if they are overridden. Senate Leader Phil Berger,
the Republican out of Rockingham County, sharply criticized Stein's veto
(10:55):
in a press release this week, saying, by vetoing these
common sense bills, Ounor Stein confirms that he is out
of touch with the people of North Carolina. He tolerates criminal,
illegal aliens roaming our streets, divisive DEI concepts in our schools,
and government infringing on our Second Amendment rights. I look
(11:15):
forward to leading Senate Republicans and overriding these harmful vetos
and putting at North Carolina families first. With Republicans holding
a supermajority in the North Carolina Senate, shouldn't have much
of a problem there. However, in the North Carolina House
they are one vote shy of that supermajority, so overriding
Stein's veto will not only require full attendance, but support
(11:39):
from at least one House Democrat. House Speaker Deston Hall
posted on his ex account this week quote, we will
override Nce Governor's reckless vetos and defeat common sense in
North Carolina. Who's ready? That's the commentary there from House
Speaker Deston Hall. The General Assembly will be back in
Raleigh next week. It will be a busy. We'll keep
(12:00):
you up to date with all the details right here
on the Carolina Journal News Hour, and of course breaking
news coverage as always on our website, Carolina Journal dot com,
where it's now five point twenty three News Talk eleven,
ten ninety nine to three WBT. Continuing our discussion this
morning with David Larson of Carolina Journal dot com about
what has been a busy couple of weeks in North
(12:22):
Carolina politics surrounding the United States Senate race coming up
next year. Michael Wiley. Yes, he was the former head
of the North Carolina Republican Party, now the head of
the Republican National Committee. He's never been a politician in
the traditional form of running for an elected position and
office and holding that position. Dave, do you see that
(12:42):
as a pro a con or kind of somewhere in
the middle, maybe yet to be determined.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
I think it's more yet to be determined, because you know,
if you get something baked in, sometimes it can be
really hard to move and so for better or worse,
if you're banked in, and sometimes with Trump that's the
case where his floor and his ceiling are almost right
next to each other. He's just baked in. People know
what they think of him, and so for a whiley
(13:09):
that might be he's maybe tagged in people's mind as
you know, being close to Trump, and so maybe that
would have whatever one thinks of Trump. When the midterms come,
that will be a major, you know issue is how
is everything? How is the economy? How how are people thinking?
Voters thinking about Trump, especially on affiliated voters that seem
to shift a little bit more than diehard partisans. But
(13:34):
then you know, if you don't have any history of
your own necessarily voting or you know, as an executive,
you could end up, you know, seeing a lot of
you know, good good benefit from that if you're able
to define yourself first and get out ahead of it.
And yeah, like I said, if people are thinking very
(13:54):
positively about Trump, you can try to pin yourself to that.
But if somebody you know doesn't have that background and
the other side gets there first, and maybe he can
define you in the in everybody's mind, they could be
successful at that. And that's what Nobody likes negative advertising,
but that's the point of it is if there's an
undefined candidate who there is wiggle room, they will try
(14:17):
to jump in there and define that person. And even
though people say they hate negative advertising, negative ads, it
actually works. That's why people do it. Is Okay, I've
seen You've seen this ad forty times and it annoys me.
But now I do kind of in my subconscious I
might have a negative association with So I'm sure that
will be a Democrat tactic. Whereas it'll be harder to
(14:40):
change people's mind on Cooper just because he has been
a fixture. So for better or worse there, but it
might be a battle to see who can define Whattley first.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Basically, let's look at this from the Democrats side of
the aisle for a second. Democrats have poured a lot
of money into North Carolina over the last couple of
not only midterm general election cycles, they have tried to
flip the state blue. To their credit, they were very
successful in the Josh Stein election last year. Kind of
a mixed bag on the Council of State. A Democrat
(15:11):
has not held the United States Senate se You've got
to go all the way back to two thousand and eight.
That's the last time that they were successful in winning
a Senate see David. They keep trying to inch away
at North Carolina. I think many would argue, for the
most part, they've been relatively unsuccessful. This is a tough,
uphill battle for Democrats as well.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
You know, I'm I'm convincable on that either way, I guess,
because I do see. You could say things too about
state wide races, like the Republicans haven't won attorney general
race since the eighteen hundreds, you know, or so It's
unclear to me exactly why North Carolina voters both the
way they do, but they often split tickets. It could
(15:54):
be said maybe that for federal races, something like US Senate,
like you said, hasn't gone Democrats way in a while,
that they they're making a you know, strategic, very conscious
decision to vote more conservative for federal races and more
Democrat for a lot of these state wide races for
(16:14):
governor and attorney general. I'm not totally sure on that.
I'm not sure your average voter is really thinking of
of that, or if they're just saying, I like this person,
I like that, And we haven't necessarily seen Democrats run
a really strong candidate for state for US Senate in
a while, and maybe this is this is a good
(16:36):
test of that to see if there really is a
North Carolina voter strategy there that that's why you know,
things go one way for federal races, another way for
state races. But regardless, it should be extremely close, I imagine,
and because when there are good candidates on both sides,
whether you're talking to a state wide race or a
(16:57):
federal race, I want to say, d D you know,
state level race, you can see extremely close races even
you know there state Supreme Court where it just comes
down to a couple hundred people, I believe on two
different occasions, one this Jefferson Griffin one and also the
Sherry Beasley one from a little bit ago. Also I
(17:18):
think they came down to four hundred voters. So these
state wide races are tough to get inside voter's mind necessarily.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah, And I mean you look at the last Senate
race where Tom Tillis was on the ballot. He won
by less than one and a half percentage points. Ted
Budd Beating winning his race back in twenty twenty two
by about two and a half percentage points, so relatively
close races. Dave, final question for you this morning, Again,
no official announcements yet, we expect those in the next
week or two. But how quickly do you think things
(17:49):
actually kick off and hit the ground as we head
into the first month of August. Typically these campaigns kind
of lag. As you mentioned, campaign filing doesn't really even
start until the month of December, the first week of December.
Do you think that this campaign and that these races
are gonna be shot out of a cannon as soon
as both of these candidates officially announce and it'll be
(18:10):
you know, a sprint to the finish line in November
of next year.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
I do. I think, you know, as we're saying about
the primaries, they're trying to kind of clear the field.
So anybody thinking about it now, you know that you're
gonna be going up against the entire establishment of your party.
And then once the they're announced in full, they're gonna
form committees and you know, unofficially be just just just
really hitting the ground running. And and it's gonna be
(18:38):
at that point, yeah, once filing happens, and then once
the campaigns get going, if it is just Cooper and
Wattley mainly without any major contenders in the primary, they're
gonna be just raising money as much as they can
and focusing on each other from the very beginning. It's
probably gonna get really nasty. There's gonna be adds up
really early. There's gonna be a a pulling that we're
(19:00):
gonna do with Carolina Journal. There's gonna be a lot of
analysis and and you're gonna see, yeah, in research on
two people that have already been you know, their backgrounds.
I'm sure Ben come through, but it's going to be
you know, full full throttle full you know after the
races immediately and you know it'd be be an exciting
one to watch for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Yeah, and again we'll be keeping an eye on this
store for almost the next year and a half. We
appreciate the details. This morning, David Larson from Carolina Journal
dot com joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
It's five thirty seven. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
(19:42):
News Hour. Newstalk eleven ten ninety nine three WBT. Earlier
this week, Governor Josh Stein announced that Eco Kings Solutions LLC,
a Chinese manufacturer of disposable biodegradable tablewear, will receive a
state incentive package in exchange for investing over eighty million
(20:03):
dollars and creating five hundred and fifteen jobs in Robinsville
that's located in Graham County, North Carolina. The governor said
in a press release, quote, North Carolina offers global companies
a perfect location for expansion into North America. We welcome
Eco king to western North Carolina, where it will find
(20:25):
a welcoming business climate, education and workforce programs tailored to
its needs, as well as a full range of competitive
advantages that make North Carolina, the top state in the
business the top state to do business in the country,
according to a press release. Ecoking Solutions is a subsidiary
of a larger Chinese company that was founded in two
(20:48):
thousand and eight and employees more than twelve hundred people
across three high capacity factories in mainland China. The company
manufactures disposable dishware, including bowls, plates, clamshell containers and trays,
commonly used in supermarkets and across diverse food the diverse
food service sector. The company aims to localize production, streamlining
(21:11):
its supply chain, and significantly reduce its internal shipping costs
and production lead times by establishing that new facility here
in North Carolina. Ping Zang, the chairman of Eco A
King's Solutions, said in a press release quote, we have
been impressed with how welcoming Robinsonville, Graham County, and North
Carolina have been to our company and this important project.
(21:36):
We worked very hard to find the right location for
our business to thrive. We know we found it right
here due to the excellent workforce, quality of life, and
friendly business climate. We are excited to be part of
the community and we are excited for our company to
prosper here. The project will receive a partial support through
a Job Development Investment grant that's also known as a
(21:58):
JDIG grant, which was approved earlier this week by the
North Carolina Department of Commerce's Economic Investment Committee. According to
the committee's evaluation, the project could contribute more than seven
hundred and forty three million dollars to the state's economy
over the twelve year duration of the grant. They used
a formula that factors in tax revenue, newly created jobs,
(22:22):
and associated capital investments, ultimately reaching a JDIG agreement allows
for the potential reimbursement of up to two point eight
million dollars in state tax money to the company, distributed
over a twelve year period. These state payments would only
be made after the Department of Commerce and Revenue confirm
(22:42):
that the company has met its job creation and investment benchmarks.
And While wages will vary depending on position, the average
salary is set to be around forty six thousand, seven
hundred dollars a year, which is comparable with the average
salary in Graham County, which is forty six thousand, six
hundred dollars a year and generating an annual payroll impact
(23:03):
of around fourteen million dollars a year. Brian Balfour, the
vice president of Research at the John Locke Foundation, told
The Carolina Journal in a quote, it's somewhat amazing that
the state continues to engage in these politicized tax breaks
when the track record of JAYDIG is examined. An evaluation
(23:24):
of the program by the John Locke Foundation last summer
found that nearly half of JDIG projects were terminated or
withdrawn without meeting hiring goals, and previously researched previous research
had found that more than a third of such projects
failed to create even a single job. He noted, instead
(23:44):
of trying to instead of trying to centrally direct North
Carolina's economy by granting selective privileges to connected businesses, the
state should focus on across the board tax relief for
all job creators, along with regular Tory relief to cut
down on burdensome red tape. In twenty twenty two, another
(24:05):
Chinese based company known as Triangle Tire canceled a partnership
with Edgecombe County and the Carolina Gateway Partnership to build
a tire factory in the Kingsboro business park. That's according
to the Rocky Mount Telegram. Triangle Tire stated that the
decision was driven by various business challenges, prompting company leadership
(24:27):
in China to discontinue the project and refocus efforts on
meeting business priorities within the mainland of China. So Jaydig
continues to be and have a less than stellar track
record as we continue to track the details across the
state of North Carolina. However, with that, the North Carolina
Department of Commerce continues to issue these Jaydig grants. You
(24:50):
can read some additional details on this story, plus the
more large scale discussion over jaydig and some of our
previous research. That's all available this morning on our website
to Carolina Journal dot com. Turning our attention to some
other statewide news this morning, Raleigh has been named one
of five new US Department of Agriculture Hub locations. This
(25:13):
is part of a nationwide restructuring plan announced by Secretary
Brook Rollins this week as the agency aims to move
closer to the communities that it serves. The Secretary said
in a press release, American agriculture feeds clothes and fuels
this nation and the world, and it's long pastime that
(25:34):
the Department better served the great and patriotic farmers, ranchers,
and producers we are mandated to support. President Trump was
elected to make real changes in Washington, and we're doing
just that by moving our key services outside the Beltway
and into great American cities across the country. We will
(25:55):
do so through a transparent and common sense process that
preserves us DA DA's critical health and public safety service
that the American people rely on. We will do right
by the great American people who serve and with respect
to the thousands of hard working USDA employees who so
notably serve their country as well, to bring the USDA
(26:17):
closer to the people it supports and provide a more
reliable and affordable cost of living to government employees. USDA
says it has developed a plan to relocate a significant
portion of the agency's headquarter and National Capital Region staff
to five hub locations across the country, with Raleigh being
(26:38):
chosen as one of those five. The other four locations
include Kansas City, Missouri, Indianapolis, Indiana, Fort Collins, Colorado, and
Salt Lake City, Utah. The USDA's reorganization is built around
four key pillars of the First, it aims to ensure
that the size of USDA's workforce is appropriately all lined
(27:00):
with its available financial resources and the nation's agricultural priorities. Second,
it seeks to bring USDA closer to its customers, enhancing
responsiveness and service delivery. The third pillar the reorganization is
designed to eliminate excessive management layers and reduce a bureaucratic
(27:21):
obstacles that often hinder efficiency. And finally, it intends to
consolidate redundant support functions to streamline operations and improve overall effectiveness.
Critical functions of USDA will continue without interruption. It is
in the height of fire season and USDA has exceeded
(27:42):
hiring goals and maintained the ability to continue hiring. This
contrasts with North Carolina, which is, as it stands this year,
the nation's number one state at risk for wildfires. North
Carolina does have two active fire seasons, one in the
spring one in the fall. Steve Troxil, the commissioner of
the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, emphasized
(28:06):
to state lawmakers earlier this year that the department is
overworked and understaffed, with more than three hundred open positions,
including one hundred directly in the North Carolina Forest Service Division.
Earlier this year, Brook Rollins, the Secretary of USDA, issued
a memorandum exempting national security and public safety positions from
(28:29):
a federal hiring freeze. Fifty two positions Class fifty two
position classifications performed duties essential to the safety and security
of the American people, which includes national forest as well
as safety and inspections of the nation's agricultural and food
supply systems. Over the past four years, USDA has expanded
(28:51):
its workforce by eight percent, accompanied with a fourteen and
a half percent increase in employee salaries. This growth includes
hiring thousands of employees without a clear long term funding strategy.
Despite these increases, there have been no measurable improvements to
the delivery of service to USDA's primary stakeholders within the
(29:12):
agricultural community. Additionally, the agency set its presence in the
National Capital Region remains underutilized and redundant, marked by excessive spending,
prolonged mismanagement, and costly deferred maintenance. They note that it
aligns with President Trump's directive for increased accountability across government
(29:33):
agency and This comprehensive review of USDA painted a picture
of an organization burdened by inefficiencies, high costs, and unstable
operational models. The reorganization is part of USDA's process of
reducing its workforce and ensuring that the agency can continue
to afford the workers that it does have. A Significant
(29:55):
portion of this reduction was achieved through voluntary retiredment and
the Deferred Retirement Program as an optional initiative. USDA currently
employees around forty six hundred individuals one of the most
expensive areas in the country in Washington, d C, with
a federal salary locality rate of thirty three point nine percent.
(30:18):
When selecting new hub locations, the USDA considered the existing
distribution of its workforce, the regional cost of living factors,
and although Washington, d C will continue to support operations
across all USDA mission areas, following the reorganization, USDA anticipates
that no more than two thousand employees will remain at
(30:39):
their headquarters in Washington, d C. This is pretty big news,
and not only for Raleigh, but the state of North Carolina.
Additional coverage over on our website Carolina Journal dot com.
The headline nced to become home of USDA Hub under
restructuring fifty three. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour,
(31:02):
Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine three WBT. It has been
a busy week here on the Carolina Journal News Hour
and across the state of North Carolina. Of course, the
two big rumors that we continue to track this morning
all but official at this point. Former Democrat Governor Roy
Cooper is set to enter the race for United States
Senate that could happen as early as next week. And
(31:24):
of course, earlier this morning talking with David Larson from
Carolina Journal dot com about Michael Wattley, the former head
of the North Carolina Republican Party now head of the
Republican National Committee, set to enter the North Carolina Senate
race on the Republican side of the isle. Laura Trump,
of course, was the one of the names that was
(31:45):
thrown around as a front runner in this race. However,
she did take to exit yesterday to discuss this and
say to quote, after much consideration and heartfelt discussion with
my family, friends and supporters, I've decided not to pursue
the United States Senate seat in North Carolina at this
time I am deeply grateful for the encouragement and support
(32:08):
I have received from the people of my home state,
who I love so much. While I'm not running in
this election, my passion for making America great again burns brightly,
and I look forward to the future whatever that leads.
So that that's Laura Trump officially bowing out of the race,
Michael Wattley being presumably being tapped as that candidate. President Trump,
(32:30):
firing off a truth social post last night around at
eight point thirty, is endorsing Michael Wattley for the position, saying,
in part, Mike would make an unbelievable Senator from North Carolina.
He is fantastic at everything he does, and he was
certainly great at the RNC. In the presidential election, we
(32:51):
won every swing state, the popular vote, and the Electoral
College by a landslide. But I have a mission for
my friends in North care and that is to get
Michael Wattley to run for the United States Senate. He
is strong on the border, stopping crime, supporting our military
and veterans, cutting taxes, and saving are always under siege
(33:12):
Second Amendment. I need him in Washington, and I need
him representing you. He will never let you down. That
is a part of the endorsement post last night on
truth Social from President Donald Trump. We are expecting both
of those announcements both Stein excuse me, both Cooper and
former NCGOPA chairman to Michael Wattley in the next week
(33:36):
or two. Will of course keep our eyes on that.
In another stories that we are tracking as we head
into next week, both the House and the Senate, both
republicly are both controlled by Republicans, will be back in
Raleigh next week after their July recess. They are expected
to head back to the Capitol on Tuesday, aiming to
(33:58):
override fourteen vetos that Governor Josh Stein has already veto stamped.
This early into his relationship with the General Assembly, there
are a litany of bills that the governor has vetoed,
many of them dealing with DEI both in public education
and higher education, dealing with border security, constitutional carry, some
(34:22):
privacy laws as well defining men and women in North Carolina,
powers for the state Auditor, as well as the Rains Act,
which is something that we've talked about a lot over
the last couple of months. The lawmakers are expected to
be back to deal with those veto overrides. Republicans have
that veto super majority threshold in the Senate. They are
(34:46):
one vote shy in the House, so it's going to
be an interesting process to watch unfold. We will have
our eyes on the Capitol as we head into next
week right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. That's
going to do it for a Friday edition. WBT News
is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with
you Monday morning, five to six right here on Newstalk eleven,
(35:07):
ten and ninety nine three WBT
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