Carolina Journal Radio No. 917: Looking ahead to North Carolina’s 2022 Senate race

We still haven’t heard the final word on the 2020 election, but some observers are already looking ahead to North Carolina’s next big electoral contest. Voters will replace Republican Richard Burr in the U.S. Senate in 2022. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, analyzes early announcements and speculation about a contest that could have a major impact on partisan control of Congress’ upper chamber. The federal government will look different under President-elect Joe Biden next year than it does now under President Trump. But some parts of the government will carry on without much change even as the White House sees a major shakeup. Jim Copland, senior fellow and director of legal policy at the Manhattan Institute, devotes a recent book, The Unelected, to the powerful people who play major roles in government decisions regardless of election results. Copland recently highlighted themes from the book in an online presentation for the John Locke Foundation. People of all political persuasions can agree that the 2020 election turned into a mess. Robert Natelson, a constitutional law expert and former Montana gubernatorial candidate, says one reason for the problem is that government officials ignored a key provision in the U.S. Constitution. During a recent episode of the John Locke Foundation’s “HeadLocke” podcast, Natelson shared his concerns. He also offered ideas for improving the current system. The U.S. Supreme Court recently welcomed Amy Coney Barrett as its newest justice. Campbell Law School constitutional expert Greg Wallace recently assessed Barrett’s likely impact on the high court during a presentation for the John Locke Foundation. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper starts his second term in 2021. He’ll be forced to deal with the same Republican leaders of the N.C. House and Senate who led those chambers during Cooper’s first term. That arrangement could mean two more years of budget gridlock. Or all parties could try to find new areas of compromise. Becki Gray, John Locke Foundation senior vice president, discusses the prospects for cooperation or continued stalemates over the budget and other key issues.