Ken Fontenot is not a household name in North Carolina. Still, for the people who live in House District 24 – which covers all of Wilson County, plus a small section of Nash County – it’s a name they should familiarize themselves with.
For those familiar with Tricia Cotham, Frank Sossamon’s story might sound similar. Sossamon, a reliable Democratic primary voter for over two decades, abruptly changed his party registration to Republican after 2020. He then ran for a seat in the State House as a Republican, won, and has been a reliable vote for the party’s far-right policy priorities ever since.
“I would love to get [abortion restrictions] down to six weeks. And I’d like to get down to zero. I would like to push it back as far as we could and eliminate as many abortions as we can,” Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson told supporters earlier this month.
Republican perennial candidate (and perennial election loser) Joshua Niday is running for a seat in the legislature for the fourth time this fall and his right-wing extremist beliefs have been flying under the radar in his district.
The significant drop comes amid efforts by Republicans to undo the last 60 years of progress, erasing anti-discrimination protections and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from state agencies and institutions.
“The usual pattern in political science is that as people grow older, they become more engaged and recognize the importance of participating in activities like voting,” NC politics expert Michael Bitzer said. “However, millennials aren’t following this trend.”
Kennedy’s candidacy has given election officials — and voters — whiplash over the past two months. He originally fought to get on the ballot, gathering thousands of signatures to form a new political party in North Carolina. Now he wants off the ballot.
Polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight show that Josh Stein’s “skirt” ad had “a near-immediate impact on Robinson’s campaign.” Stein and Robinson were neck-and-neck until July – after Stein’s ad was released. Some recent polls show Stein up as much as 14 points.
A survey of more than 3,900 U.S. women ages 18 to 49 was conducted earlier this summer and found that 74% of women under 50 think abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Robinson’s attendance record at various state bodies, including the state board of education, has been spotty. The Military Affairs Committee meets quarterly, and the minutes show Robinson has been absent from every meeting since he took office in 2021.