Countdown to Year-End – 3rd Stop North Carolina for 2022 Midterms
For the 2022 midterms, Rideshare2Vote has been building our volunteer driver base and networking with Democratic campaigns and organizations so that we’re ready when early voting starts in the New Year. As 2021 comes to a close, we are focused on upcoming 2022 races vital to Democrats in 6 states Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida. We are calling low-propensity Democrats to increase turnout and supporting voter access to the polls through our free-to-voters rides to the polls program.
The election calendar puts us first in Texas and Ohio, but North Carolina will be our 3rd stop — unless Election Day changes AGAIN. Originally, North Carolinians were supposed to vote on March 8, but the GOP-controlled legislature created such gerrymandered districts that the Democrats were compelled to file multiple lawsuits to stop the Republican power-grab. The NC Supreme court delayed the candidate filing period to allow the newly gerrymandered maps to be litigated, appealed, and hopefully changed.
So even before we discuss a single race in the 2022 election season, you can see that there is much controversy to be resolved in North Carolina, where the Supreme Court has given the lower courts until January 11 to rule on the merits of the cases. The results in North Carolina are vital to the balance of the US House and Senate, and we are looking forward to helping get voters to the polls in the Tar Heel State.
Unless the courts make additional changes, North Carolina’s Primary Election Day will be May 17, with early voting likely beginning in early May. Sen. Richard Burr (who is still under SEC investigation for insider trading just before the severity of the pandemic became public knowledge) is not running for re-election. The NC Republican Party last year censured Burr for siding with Dems in Trump’s second impeachment trial, in which he voted to find Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection on January 6. The censure shows some differences in the mindset of GOP voters in North Carolina when it comes to Trump, as Burr’s response underlines: “My party’s leadership has chosen loyalty to one man over the core principles of the Republican Party and the founders of our great nation.”
The primary for Burr’s open seat is becoming a Trump litmus test, as two Republicans (Ted Budd and Pat McCrory) seek approval of the pro-Trump base by bashing each other. Democrats have an excellent candidate in former NC Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley whose only serious challenger has bowed out of the race and thrown his support behind her. Having Dems united behind a single candidate allows Beasley to work on messaging that will appeal to moderate Republicans and unaffiliated voters, while Budd and McCrory’s fight hopefully expands the cracks in the GOP.
Meanwhile, Rep. Madison Cawthorn is up for re-election for his House seat just as he has become the forward face of the radical right-wing GOP in North Carolina. Hopefully, some Republican voters may vote against Cawthorn and his fellow “Big Lie” conspiracy theorists now that Cawthorn has had his phone and social media records subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the insurrection.
The internal battles of the NC GOP may work to the advantage of Democratic candidates, so getting a strong turnout among Democrats is vital as we prioritize removing Trumpists from office. Every voter we can turn out for the primary, even if Cheri Beasley runs unopposed, prepares us for a greater turnout in the November General Election. We are supporting North Carolina Democrats as they seek to fill seats with responsible elected officials rather than right-wing Trump apologists.
Please donate today to help us turn out the 2022 vote for Democratic candidates in North Carolina beginning in early May, with voting to follow in Virginia, Florida, and Georgia.
by Sarah Kovich
