I live in North Carolina, one thing that is politically interesting about North Carolina is that we are not a guaranteed red or blue state. We often have governors that are Democrats (we do now) but these governors know better than to go too extreme on their policies because aside from the big cities that are very liberal, they maintain this position purely because their policies are not too extreme in any direction. NC is kind of unique in this aspect because although my governor has a D next to his name, I don't feel as though he is enacting crazy, California-style legislation and this is why we don't really complain about him a great deal.
We often have a mix of near 50/50 as far as state representation is concerned and our Congressional representatives in both the US House and Senate tend to be a mix of both blue and red.
You also never really know how this state is going to vote in Presidential elections and it could go either way. We tend to lean Republican but that is by no means a guarantee. One of the annoying things about living in North Carolina is that both sides spend a lot of money advertising here because of our "on the fence" ways and during election season it is kind of annoying how everything becomes politics for around 6 months.
Anyway, a Senate seat that has been held by a Republican for quite some time (since 2015) is going to be vacated next year in 2026 and I think that everyone should prepare themselves for the shitstorm that is about to unfold as far as anyone that decides to run for the seat is concerned.
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Thom Tillis has decided to not run again next year and I do not know why and honestly do not care. I am disappointed he is not seeking re-election purely because I know that this is going to get messy and funds are going to be pouring in from all around the country and probably the world to try to fill this seat with someone with an "R" or "D" next to their name, regardless of whether or not that person is actually good.
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Our previous governor, who left office because of term limits, has indicated that he is going to run for this seat. I think he would be a good neutral candidate for this because he managed to get elected twice in a state that if a Democrat does something even slightly untowards the state rises up and elects a Republican. How else can you explain this? I went the entire 8 years of Coopers reign without even really noticing he was there and there wasn't any real reason to attack the guy. He was basically neutral and well, I think that is a good way to be. I don't like that he is a Democrat but hell, if we are going to have a Dem in there, Roy is one of the good ones.
During Covid he towed the line with other Democrats but I think he did that out of political necessity. Over on my side of the state, which is deeply Red, our local areas decided that we were not going to do the lockdowns, masks, and other such things and while Cooper advised against this, he didn't do anything to make us stop either. Ok, fine by me!
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As far as a Republican who has thrown their proverbial hat into the ring for the upcoming Senate race we have Michael Whatley... and while I know it isn't nice to base your opinion of someone based on their looks, this dude just looks like a scumbag. I don't really have the time or concern to look up what his history is right now because believe me, it will be pointed out to me in great detail over the next year before the midterms.
I say that things are going to get dirty because the US Senate is damn near 50/50 split and has been for a while. Each seat, regardless of where the election takes place becomes national news unless it is in a state where they always vote one way or another. You take someone like Roy Cooper, who was generally popular across both sides of the political electorate and put him against a sleazy-looking relative unknown and the only thing that they are going to do is dig up trash on both of them and those of us that live here are going to have to deal with this being thrown in our faces 24/7. I plan on putting up my large no trespassing signs immediately after the very first person comes and knocks on my door at my house.
It's gonna get ugly folks and no matter where you live in the US and perhaps internationally, you will likely be subjected to this nonsense as well. I can vote in this special election and I already don't care.