Clayton Henkel, News From The States

Roy Cooper: Unprecedented tragedy will require an unprecedented response

RALEIGH N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and the state’s top emergency management officials provided an update Sunday to the ongoing, massive response to Tropical Storm Helene.

Helene dropped from 10 to 29 inches of rain across the mountains on Friday, causing life-threatening floods and landslides. The storm has claimed 11 lives in North Carolina, and officials expect that number will rise.

Gov. Cooper said the state is aware that people are desperate for help, and multiple agencies are actively pushing to get it to them.

“Many people are cut off because roads are impassable, they don’t have power or communications. Please know that we are sending resources and coordinating closely with local governments, first responders, state and federal partners, and volunteer organizations to help those impacted by this tragic storm,” said Gov. Cooper.

Because it’s difficult to trucks in the needed supplies over closed and damaged roads, the state has begun airlifting food and water into the region.

Governor Roy Cooper addresses the media about the ongoing response to Tropical Storm Helene. (Screengrab PBSNC)

A 20-bed state medical support center is opening in Caldwell County later today, and the state will be setting up more.

Nearly 464,000 customers remain without power. That’s down from a peak of more than a million customers at the height of the storm.

More than 500 North Carolina National Guard members have been deployed to work with local emergency responders conducting search and rescue missions, delivering needed supplies, and working to restore infrastructure.

President Biden granted Cooper’s request for a federal major disaster declaration providing immediate federal help for 25 North Carolina counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Cell phone providers are working to fix the damage and get stopgap solutions in place.

NC Emergency Management Director Will Ray said conditions on the ground remain extremely dangerous.

“We ask people not to venture into storm-affected areas, whether to check on property, loved ones, or just to sight see. Besides endangering yourself, you could also be interfering with emergency responders or repair crews,” cautioned Ray. “Please let the professionals do their jobs.”

The state has over 730 responders conducting search and rescue efforts.

Telecommunications companies are working around the clock to restore cell phone service and mobile data to the mountains.

Ray said for those in western North Carolina, it’s recommended you turn your phones off and turn them back on periodically to allow the phone to connect to a network.

On Friday, North Carolina’s telecommunications partners activated disaster roaming on all networks. This means that any phone on any carrier can access any network to place calls.

As of midday Sunday, 280 roads remained closed in Western North Carolina because of Helene. The majority of those are in Henderson, Ash, Buncombe, Lincoln, Cleveland, Jackson, Transylvania and Yancey counties.

“Many of the closures are due to high water where the roadway is impassable or flooded. We also have several land and rockslides down power lines, pipe failures and fallen trees,” said NC Department of Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins.

One piece of good news, according to Hopkins, a previously closed section of I-26 south of Asheville has reopened allowing responders their first major route into and out of the city.

Crews have also opened up a path through the slide near Old Fort on I-40 to allow some stranded vehicles and also emergency responders to pass through with assistance from the state highway patrol.

Hopkins said unnecessary travel is hindering NCDOT crews from doing the work to get the roads reopened.

“Our main message is simple, consider all roads in western North Carolina to be closed until further notice,” said the NCDOT Secretary.

One of the biggest concerns right now is the availability of clean water.

Ray said there are 93 systems that are on a boil water advisory with 33 awaiting test results to clear that advisory.

“Loss of power is one contributing factor, but we also know that there’s significant infrastructure damage from the amount of water that impacted a number of these communities, that’s going to have significant rebuild impacts for these water systems to come online,” Ray explained.

In the days ahead they will determine which water systems need simple repairs or whether an extensive overhaul of a jurisdiction’s water system is required.

“Because those are significant lifts and challenges, we are preparing our operation to continue to move commodities into those impacted areas, particularly food and water for an extended duration of time,” said Ray.

Those in need of shelter can find a list of open shelters here. As of Sunday afternoon, the one shelter is McDowell County at Glenwood Baptist Church was at full capacity.

For those who wish to donate to recovery efforts, the state will be activating North Carolina’s Disaster Relief Fund, managed by the United Way of North Carolina.

NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com. Follow NC Newsline on Facebook and X.

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Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com. Follow Rhode Island Current on Facebook and X.

Robinson returns to campaign trail as staffers resign and GOP pols distance themselves

Lt. Governor Mark Robinson returns to the campaign trail Monday with the hopes of refocusing his faltering gubernatorial campaign on the issues.

The Republican nominee has spent the past four days denying a CNN report about lewd and offensive online posts, and by Sunday some top members of his campaign had resigned.

Last Thursday, CNN aired an investigative report that unearthed several online accounts and comments in which Robinson allegedly said, “slavery is not bad” and referred to himself as a “black NAZI” and a “perv.”

The more graphic and lewd posts dated back years before Robinson entered politics, but fellow Republicans have been quick since the CNN report to distance themselves from the NCGOP’s nominee for governor.

Robinson emphatically denied the story last week. But he notably did not share the stage with former President Donald Trump on Saturday in Wilmington. Trump who has previously called the lieutenant governor “better than Martin Luther King, Jr.” did not mention him once at the crowded rally.

The Robinson campaign arranged instead for him to attend a meet-and-greet at the Fayetteville Motor Speedway coinciding with the Carlton Lamm Memorial Race.

The Fayetteville Observer reported that Robinson spoke for about two minutes and offered a prayer before the race.

“We’re going to focus on the issues that you are concerned with while everybody else wants to focus on the garbage and the trash.”

Most in attendance on Saturday evening were there to watch auto racing on a dirt track not talk politics — an apt venue for a candidate working out their own end-of-race strategy.

Republicans leave Robinson to make the case by himself, staffers resign

Ninety-three miles to the south in Wilmington on Saturday, U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) avoided any mention of Robinson, instead focusing on the closeness of the races in a battleground state.

“In the last election, 19% of Republicans didn’t even vote,” Budd told the Trump audience. “That’s not going to happen again. Make a plan to vote and take 10 friends with you.”

U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, who is vying to become the state’s first Republican attorney general since 1896, used his time in the national spotlight to blame Democrats and a “complicit media” for abusing their investigative and prosecutorial power.

“They think by demoralizing us, they’ll defeat us just like 1898. We will not let this happen,” pledged Bishop. “Perhaps they will stop one of us…but they will not stop all of us.”

State Rep. Erin Pare (R-Wake) spent the weekend canvassing in her own district. She called the allegations regarding Robinson completely “abhorrent and indefensible.”

“Mark has told the public these allegations are false, and it is his responsibility to prove that to North Carolina voters,” said Pare in a social media post.

Former Republican governor Pat McCrory offered his own prediction.

“I think what’s going to happen as people are deserting him, people that used to beg him to be on the same podium as him, are now just going to walk away,” McCrory told CNN’s Boris Sanchez.

By Sunday evening, those walking away were trusted staff members. Departing Robinson’s campaign are senior campaign manager Chris Rodriguez, deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk, senior adviser Conrad Pogorzelski III, and Heather Whillier, the campaign finance director.

Both WUNC and CNN reported that additional employees on the Robinson campaign have also stepped away.

An announcement on new staff will be forthcoming from the campaign soon, according to a Sunday press release.

Top of the ticket has no plans to appear with Robinson

The matter has become such a distraction for the party, Republican vice presidential nominee Senator JD Vance was asked about the Robinson allegations in an interview with NBC Philadelphia.

“I don’t not believe him, I don’t believe him,” said Vance. “I just think that you have to let these things sometimes play out in the court of public opinion.”

Vance, who returns to North Carolina on Monday, said the ticket has no plans to appear with Robinson in the battleground state.

While Vance will be in Charlotte to deliver remarks on the economy, Lt. Gov. Robinson has scheduled a 9:00 am appearance at Vernon’s Cake Carousel in Wilkesboro followed by a 2:30 pm meet-and-greet at the Blue Ridge Diner in Watauga County.

Tim Walz tells NC crowd to ‘ditch’ Trump, fight for democracy

Six days after Kamala Harris drew large, enthusiastic crowds in Charlotte and Greensboro, Governor Tim Walz brought the campaign to Asheville in hopes of keeping the momentum high in the final 49 days of the 2024 presidential campaign.

The Democratic nominee for vice president told the audience while many people were impressed by Harris’ debate performance over Donald Trump, they should not be surprised that a woman who was an attorney general of the largest state in the country, a United States senator, and vice president of the United States was prepared for this moment in history.

“But Kamala Harris isn’t talking about the historic nature of this, she just puts her nose down and does the work,” said Walz. “As we say in the army, she stays in her lane every single day.”

Walz said while Trump focused on grievances during last week’s 90-minute debate, Harris remained focused on how she would help working families.

“If you’re hoping to buy a home someday, which all of us want to, she’s going to help make it more affordable. If you’re getting squeezed on grocery prices, prescription drugs, she’s going to make sure we take on the price-gougers and big pharma. And if you have an idea, you want to start your own small business, she’s going to make sure that the tax credit on that we cut through the red tape, give you help on the front end to let you achieve the dream that you want to,” Walz pledged.

The Minnesota governor said the campaign has made Beyoncé’s Freedom a central theme song for Harris because freedom is fundamental.

“Republicans used to talk the same way about freedoms. They used to really believe it. Not these guys. Now when they talk about it, government should be free [to] invade your doctor’s office, make decisions for you, invade your bedroom, tell you who you should love, invade your school library,” said Walz.

Walz said that a Trump-Vance administration would most certainly create a new government entity that will monitor all pregnancies to enforce state abortion bans.

On the issue of the Second Amendment, Walz reminded the crowd that he was a veteran, a hunter, and a gun owner who took time to meet with parents of children lost in the Sandy Hook school shooting.

“Just last week, JD Vance told us [school shootings were] just ‘a fact of life.’ These are the people who are spending all their time trying to ban books from our schools, but they can’t spend a minute banning assault weapons from our schools.”

Vance will make a campaign appearance in Raleigh on Wednesday ahead of Trump’s visit to Wilmington on Saturday.

Harris’s running mate told the crowd this campaign was personal, and it was going to be very close.

Then he invited conservative voters to have the courage to walk away from Trump.

“This is not theoretical, you’re not rooting for your team, you’re not like, ‘Oh, I’m on the Red Hat team, I’m going to stick with them no matter how bad they are.’ Ditch them! Ditch them if they start doing bad.”

On National Voter Registration Day, Walz concluded by urging North Carolinians to have one more conversation with a friend or neighbor, convince one more person to vote this fall.

“We can chart a new way forward,” said Walz. “But my God, what a privilege to fight for democracy.”

Latest poll gives Stein a double-digit lead over Robinson in NC’s governor’s race

A new High Point University/SurveyUSA Poll shows Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor, leading Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson by 14 percentage points in North Carolina’s closely watched governor’s race.

The online poll of more than 1,000 North Carolina registered voters found 48% favored Stein and 34% supporting Robinson. Eighteen percent say they remain undecided.

The High Point Poll comes roughly a week after a New York Times/Sienna College poll showed Stein leading Robinson 49-39 percent.

While Harris’ entry into the presidential race has helped bring new excitement to the Democratic ticket — the poll found that she has now pulled slightly ahead of former President Donald Trump among North Carolina voters 46%-45% — Robinson has faced questions in recent weeks about a nonprofit led by his wife that was cited for inaccurate reimbursement claims.

Robinson has said the “weaponization of government” is being used to steer the state investigation into his wife’s now closed business.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has described the reviews of the nonprofit — Balanced Nutrition — as routine and federally required.

The Republican gubernatorial nominee has also found himself repeatedly trying to explain comments delivered to a North Carolina church audience on Sunday, June 30 that “some folks need killing.”

This week Robinson was asked about the comment again even as he rolled out his public safety plan.

With the new school year starting, Lt. Gov. Robinson has also faced questions about remarks made during a July event that he would opt the state out of federal education funds in an effort to reduce bureaucracy. The remarks were first reported by WRAL.

North Carolina receives more than $1.6 billion dollars in federal funding.

Justin Parmenter, a veteran Charlotte middle school teacher, told reporters on Thursday that would cripple public schools.

“The majority of that money goes to support our most vulnerable students, who need our help the most,” said Parmenter. “More than $650 million of those dollars goes to supporting lower income students and schools in lower income areas. More than a half a billion goes towards providing nutritious food for students. Another $380 million serve students with special needs,” explained Parmenter.

North Carolina Rep. Lindsey Prather (D-Buncombe) also criticized Robinson’s remarks, noting that without federal funds the state would struggle to find additional resources for classroom teachers, support staff, bus drivers, and school maintenance workers.

You can find crosstabs for the latest High Point University Poll here.

How Democratic women are mobilizing to help Kamala Harris win this swing state

On a morning typically reserved for grocery shopping, laundry and household chores, an army of women cleared their Saturday schedules to hop on a Zoom call.

More than 800 joined the first ever NC Women for Harris virtual call, riding a wave of enthusiasm that started just a week earlier when President Joe Biden announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential contest and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the top of the ticket.

But amid the enthusiasm, the women on Saturday’s call acknowledged that with roughly 100 days remaining until election day, they needed to be focused and united in their messaging.

Rhonda Foxx, the national Women for Harris engagement director, told those on the call to expect a tight, competitive race between Harris and former president Donald Trump.

Over 270 campaign offices have been set up across the country staffed by 1,200 employees and team members focused on helping Harris make history as the 47th president and the first Black woman to hold the nation’s highest office.

“We’re asking everyone that’s fired up for the Vice President to do 47 actions for 47. What are 47 people you can call today to get them plugged into our grassroots movement? What’s $47 you could give today or $4.70 you could give to make sure that we’re able to continue building our campaign infrastructure?”

Those resources will be needed to create a pathway to victory, said Foxx.

A renewed focus on Trump and Project 2025

U.S. Rep. Alma Adams said sustaining the momentum was crucial, but so was understanding what was at stake in a second Trump presidency ushering in many of the ideas detailed in Project 2025.

Congresswoman Alma Adams (Screengrab from Zoom call)

“It is dangerous,” warned Adams. “It’s going to gut all of the checks and balances that will give Trump virtually unlimited power. Call it what it is. Most people are saying Project 2025, but it’s correct name is Project 1825 because that’s where Trump wants to take us back to a time when Blacks were enslaved in America, a time when women had no rights. And Social Security was not contemplated as benefits for our seniors and a time when there were no civil rights for Black folks, when there were no laws to protect our environment.”

Trump has claimed not to know who is behind Project 2025, despite the fact dozens of staffers in his administration — including former chief of staff Mark Meadows — were advisors on the 900-page document from the Heritage Foundation.

Senator Rachel Hunt, a Mecklenburg County Democrat vying to become North Carolina’s next lieutenant governor, picked up where Rep. Adams left off.

“Trump’s Project 2025 calls for the elimination of the Department of Education and will get rid of programs that make education more accessible for learners with fewer resources,” Hunt said. “He wants to get rid of the Head Start program, which will deny access to quality early learning for low-income families. Donald Trump would let millions of public-school students who rely on free or reduced lunch go hungry.”

Hunt worries Project 2025 would also reverse course on student debt relief. Hunt’s own bill (SB 196) to establish a Student Borrowers’ Bill of Rights was introduced last year and never given a hearing in the Republican-controlled legislature.

Rep. Julie von Haefen (Screengrab from Zoom call)

Rep. Julie von Haefen, recognized as one of the strongest voices for public education in North Carolina’s legislature, wanted mothers on the Zoom call to turn their attention to gun violence.

“This is an issue I care deeply about as a mom of three children, especially my children growing up in a community that they’ve had to deal with school shootings their entire life,” said von Haefen. “I know this is something that so many women and moms care deeply about, but we know that President Trump has picked the gun lobby time and time again. He’s made the gun epidemic worse by standing in the way of common-sense gun reforms.”

In contrast, Rep. von Haefen said the Vice President Harris worked alongside President Biden in passing the most significant federal bipartisan gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years.

Renewed worries about pre-existing conditions, women’s health

Former state senator Terry Van Duyn urged women to think about healthcare, and how that might change if the Affordable Care Act were gutted.

“Trump’s Project 2025 agenda ends health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” said Van Duyn. “Before I was a state senator I worked as an ACA navigator, so I got to see firsthand what happens to people when they simply can’t afford to go to the doctor. What the Republicans want to do is cruel and it’s immoral and it’s our job over these next three months to make sure that every single North Carolinian knows what’s at stake for them and for their families. Our healthcare is at stake.”

Van Duyn reminded the group that, ultimately, incentives offered by the Biden-Harris administration convinced North Carolina’s legislature to expand Medicaid after a decade of blocking the issue. In the first six months of Medicaid expansion over 500,000 North Carolinians have signed up for access to life-saving care.

Jenny Black of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic said the election puts a spotlight on a public health crisis that has stripped women of their right to bodily autonomy, further deepening the maternal and infant mortality crisis across the South.

“The entire region is completely consumed by bans on abortion care. From Texas to Florida and up to West Virginia, North Carolina is one of only two states that allow access to abortion after just six weeks of pregnancy, which is before people know they are pregnant.”

Sen. Val Applewhite (Photo: NCGA)

Black said the fall elections will determine what that care looks like moving into the future.

A door-to-door fight through Election Day

Sen. Val Applewhite, a Cumberland County veteran, reminded women the health of veterans is also on the line in November, crediting the current administration with the passage of the PACT Act and creating more jobs for military families and their spouses.

The Trump campaign has used Harris’ first week on the campaign trail to attack her on inflation and border security, calling her “the most incompetent and far left vice president in American history.”

To preserve policies women care about, Sen. Applewhite said progressive women should be prepared for a real dogfight through Election Day.

In the 2020 presidential race, Trump bested Joe Biden in North Carolina by more than 74,000 votes.

“This is going to be a door-to-door fight, this is going to be in the gutter, in the street, and I have never been in a fight that I backed down from.”

Applewhite encouraged Harris supporters to take out their mobile phones, find all their friends and family members, and then go to the state board of election website.

“Look them up to see if they’re registered to vote to see if they are active that’s what we need to do and bring information to them because North Carolina’s legislature, they try to make voting real tricky,” she warned. “You got to make sure that they are ready to go.”