With just a few weeks until the first primaries, election fever is warming up. Some states have senators up for election. We do not. So, it’s the Presidential Preference Election Primary that’s the big one. In North Carolina, the Democrats have an uncontested primary, the Libertarian Party has nine candidates, and the Republican Party has seven candidates for the NC Primary. Trump has been accepted as a candidate. The primaries in North Carolina will be held March 5th.
Trump has been challenged in several states. Michigan and Minnesota overruled a court challenge. Colorado and Maine have approved a court challenge. Several other cases do not have a ruling yet. The cases will go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not yet announced a date since the Appeals Courts have not made rulings. The request from the federal prosecutor on whether or not Trump is immune from prosecution has nothing to do with the elections. The real challenge will be the candidates in the new districts, both congressional and state. The GOP in the NC General Assembly redrew them after only two years so they could gerrymander them.
There are 24 Offices in the state that are up for Election including the Governor and all officers in the Council of State. There are four Republican candidates for Governor, and two Democratic candidates. Candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and State Senators and Representatives, and judges at multiple levels, as well as county officials also are up for election. Not all candidates face a contest in the primaries. The primaries really are not a big event in North Carolina compared with other states.
The big money and media attention, of course, are going to be on the Presidential Election. At this point, it appears that November is going to be a re-run of the 2020 election between Biden and Trump. The speculation is endless on whether or not Trump will be on the ballot in November. People also are speculating about the effects of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s campaign might have on the election.
Voter ID requirements have gone into effect this year after a long battle in the NC General Assembly. Periods for early voting, absentee voting, etc. also have been changed.
The real issue in the election is the amount of money spent on campaigns. Nationwide, we’re talking about billions of dollars. Although numerous advocacy groups have helped balance the battles between the billionaires, it evens the odds that favor the corporations and the wealthy. To what extent you can claim that certain elections are “bought” is impossible to determine. The claims have been made for decades. It’s clear that the “party bosses” don’t have the power they used to have because of the primaries and the open conventions.
At this time, if you’re got a crystal ball, you might do better in sports betting. It’s also big-time money.
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