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Jared Blank's avatar

I’m very interested in NC’s US Senate election in 2026. Cooper seems more likely to run now than before this year’s election, but I’m also interested in our backups: Wiley Nickel is definitely running if Cooper doesn’t, but he might even try to run anyways. Personally, if Cooper sits it out, I’d prefer Jeff Jackson take a shot at it. However, I see him as more likely to run against Budd in ‘28.

Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties’ municipal elections next year and the General Assembly races in 2026 are also high priorities. As a local Democratic Party officer, the North Meck towns are important to me—we just took total control in Huntersville and have held Davidson for some time. Cornelius continues to be difficult, though. Our NC house district, HD98 flipped to the Dems by ~5%. Christy Clark (now Huntersville’s Mayor) won in ‘18 by a few hundred votes and John Bradford regained it in ‘20 by ~2000, before defeating her in ‘22 by ~650 (I managed her campaign that year).

Charlotte is safe for Dems, but City Councilman Tariq Bokhari (R) is likely to face his toughest race yet in the affluent District 6 now that Trump is back in office.

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