2026 Midterm Primary Election Special: NC races and candidates to watch, featuring public radio reporters across the state

From Cherokee to Currituck and across 100 counties and more than 550 miles, it’s primary election day in North Carolina.

Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii talks to journalists in Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem about the open U.S. Senate seat, Congressional contests that could answer questions about party fissures, and local elections that will shape education.

This statewide NC primary election special is a co-production of public radio stations WUNC News in Durham, Blue Ridge Public Radio in Asheville, WFAE in Charlotte, WFDD in Winston-Salem, and WHQR in Wilmington.

Featuring:

• Chris Cooper, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs and Director of the Haire Institute for Public Policy at Western Carolina University, author of "Anatomy of a Purple State"
• Felicia Sonmez, Growth and Development Reporter, Blue Ridge Public Radio
• Gerard Albert III, Western North Carolina Rural Communities Reporter, Blue Ridge Public Radio
• Amy Diaz, education reporter, WFDD
• Rachel Keith, reporter and host, WHQR
• Steve Harrison, politics reporter, WFAE
• Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief, WUNC
• Adam Wagner, reporter and editor, NC Newsroom

This is an updated primary special episode that originally aired February 24, 2026.