Auditor Boliek, who oversees the NC Board of Elections, recently raised concerns by campaigning for Phil Berger in a tight primary. Berger helped put Boliek in charge of election oversight with a controversial 2024 law many at the time called a partisan power grab.
Advocates argue that at a time when families are struggling to afford premiums, prescriptions, and medical bills, North Carolina needs leaders who will protect and expand access to care. Whatley’s record shows support for policies that would raise costs and weaken health care security for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians.
While families across North Carolina face rising health care costs, higher utility bills, and growing economic uncertainty, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley has spent much of his career inside Washington’s political establishment.
The Western Carolina University students braved a 35-minute, 1.5-mile walk along a busy four-lane rural highway with no sidewalks to bring attention to the distance between students and the polls created by the Republican-controlled state board of elections.
“In the last two years alone in North Carolina, we have lost 19,262 teachers to other jobs; we have 7,000 teaching vacancies in the profession right now,” said Bryan Proffitt with NCAE, during the press conference.
Advocates say The Cost We Carry Storybook is meant to force lawmakers to confront the human cost of their inaction. As Johnson put it, “This report is about making sure our state lawmakers hear directly from hard-working North Carolinians — and start serving people, not greedy corporations.”
“When people in crisis do not get help in time, the consequences can be tragic,” Gov. Stein stated during the order’s announcement. The order points to a number of high-profile cases where lives were lost at the hands of individuals with complicated mental health histories.
Regardless of Whatley’s acceptance or denial of the “recovery czar” label, Trump handed him power over the recovery efforts, and in August, Smoky Mountain News reported that residents of Western North Carolina said Whatley had “rarely, if ever” visited the area.
As the race moves toward the March primary, the contrast is becoming clear. Cooper is calling for answers and reforms after deadly federal enforcement actions, while Whatley has stayed silent as families and communities demand accountability.
Willingham has voted with Republicans 83% of the time– the second highest rate of all Democrats in the General Assembly. With the help of Willingham, state Republicans were able to pass bills that officials and advocates warned would have detrimental effects to the residents of North Carolina, from higher electric bills to looser gun laws.