With all the news swirling this week about the presidential campaign and the possibility of Gov. Roy Cooper as a vice presidential candidate, we’re bringing you a segment from WUNC’s Due South. Host Jeff Tiberii spoke with Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper and WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell about where things stand and what Cooper would bring to the race.Sign up for our free, weekly WUNC Politics Newsletter here.

North Carolina law makes it extremely hard to run for office if you’re not willing to register as a Republican or Democrat and go through the party primary process. This year though, an unaffiliated candidate for Congress has made it onto the ballot for the first time in memory. Shelane Etchison is an Army veteran who served in special forces units in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, and she's running in the 9th District against incumbent Republican Congressman Richard Hudson. She speaks with WUNC's Colin Campbell about her petition drive to get on the ballot and the issues she's campaigning on.Sign up for our free, weekly WUNC Politics Newsletter here.

Thanks to a budget provision last year, state lawmakers can now deny the public access to their emails, documents and other records that most other branches of state government are required to release. That move toward secrecy is just one of many transparency concerns at the legislature. A few weeks ago, Democrats in the legislature filed a proposed constitutional amendment to guarantee public access to government records. One of the amendment's sponsors, Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, joins WUNC's Colin Campbell to discuss the proposal along with a wide range of issues that make it difficult for the public to keep track of legislative action.Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

Members of the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina recently visited the state legislature to push for a House bill that would grant them formal state recognition as an American Indian tribe. They've been fighting for the benefits provided to other tribes for decades, and the history of conflict stretches back centuries to the 1700s war between Tuscarora ancestors and British colonists. House Speaker Tim Moore says the recognition bill is unlikely to move forward, in part due to opposition from the Lumbee Tribe, the Tuscarora Nation's neighbors in Robeson County. To learn more about the Tuscarora Indians and their push for state recognition, WUNC's Colin Campbell spoke with Rahnàwakęw Donnie McDowell, the Tuscaroras' public relations officer. Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

Polls will once again open all across North Carolina on Tuesday, May 14. But with mostly down-ballot races on the ballot, will Republican primaries be decided by a tiny number of voters? Political scientist Chris Cooper of Western Carolina University shares some turnout trends and other dynamics for North Carolina’s rare runoff primaries with WUNC's Colin Campbell. And we hear from the two Republican candidates for state auditor, Jack Clark and Dave Boliek, who offer contrasting backgrounds and visions for an important state government watchdog role.Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

State lawmakers are back in Raleigh to begin what’s known as the short session – several months in which they’ll make adjustments to the state budget for the upcoming year and consider a variety of other legislation that didn’t make it across the finish line in the 2023 long session. One of the biggest partisan battles is likely to be over education funding: How much of the state's projected revenue surplus will go to public schools, and how much will address high demand for private school vouchers? Will the state address the funding cliff that childcare centers are experiencing as federal pandemic money expires?To sort through the issues facing lawmakers, WUNC's Colin Campbell spoke with Sen. Gale Adcock, D-Wake. Adcock, a longtime nurse practitioner, also discusses the state's healthcare policy needs in the months following the expansion of the Medicaid program.Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

Rodney Pierce, a middle school social studies teacher from Roanoke Rapids, narrowly defeated longtime incumbent Rep. Michael Wray in last month's Democratic primary. He campaigned with what he describes as an effort to "educate" voters about Wray's record in the N.C. House of voting with Republicans. Because no Republicans filed for the seat, Pierce will represent majority Black Warren, Halifax and Northampton counties in the legislature next year. Pierce spoke with WUNC's Colin Campbell about his goals to address economic development in an area he calls North Carolina's "Neglected Northeast," as well as how he mounted a successful primary campaign. He also discussed the challenges rural schools are facing and how his candidacy became a civics lesson for his students.Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

Wyatt Gable, a 21-year-old student at East Carolina University, unseated 10-term Republican Rep. George Cleveland of Jacksonville, who’s in his 80s and is one of the oldest members of the state House. Gable will face Democrat Carmen Spicer in November, but House District 14 leans heavily conservative and he’s likely to become the youngest member of the state legislature next year. Gable spoke with WUNC's Colin Campbell about how he won a surprise victory in the primary and how to get more young people involved in politics. He also explained the issues he wants to prioritize. He wants North Carolina’s education system to better prepare young people for a tough economy, and he wants to see stronger oversight of major road projects.Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

The results are in for the 2024 North Carolina primary -- and while some of the top-tier races ended up where everyone expected, there were some big surprises further down the ballot, as well as some races that won't get resolved until a runoff election in May. WUNC's Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell sorts through the results in a late-night conversation with host Will Michaels, then joins other panelists on "Due South" with host Jeff Tiberii to discuss the takeaways and look ahead toward the general election.

Voters in this year's primary will have a few new things to get used to. After years of legal wrangling, photo IDs are required to vote, but there's a process in place for voters who show up without one. And voters looking to use mail-in absentee ballots need to be aware of earlier deadlines. WUNC's voting and election integrity reporter, Rusty Jacobs, joins Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell to explain what voters need to know as they participate in a big election year.