2/20/2026 Weekly Roundup
WNC-relevant political and governmental news
Who could have guessed that sending letters to 241K voters asking them to “update” their registration during early primary voting (!) would cause confusion? Apparently not the state Board of Elections. See 2026 Elections, below.
Scroll down for this week’s NC-related national and NC state governmental and political news. And scroll clear to the bottom for this week’s seasonal photo from our WNC homestead. If your email service cuts this post short, you can read it online here.
If you see something in any NC News Digest post that’s incorrect … PLEASE let me know (email to ncnewsdigest@substack.com) so I can publish a correction. Truth matters. Thanks for your help.
Top stories are marked 💥
Around WNC
The nation’s largest public utility [TVA] is going back to coal — with almost no say from the public BPR/Grist 2/18/26
Asheville chosen for 2026 G20 Finance Track meetings Carolina Journal 2/19/26
Tribal court hearing for former Swain sheriff delayed Carolina Public Press 2/18/26 “Former Swain sheriff, along with sheriffs in Graham and Cherokee counties, have all recently faced removal efforts by the district attorney.”
Jackson County names new library director after former director unexpectedly resigns BPR 2/18/26
Costco withdraws application for highly anticipated Asheville location AVLWatchdog 2/19/26 “Retailer had been searching for Buncombe location for decades; mayor calls withdrawal ‘a tragedy’.”
Epstein files mention Asheville 100+ times, with victim details redacted WLOS 2/19/26
New measles case brings North Carolina total to 22 since December: health officials WLOS 2/17/26
NC-Related National Politics & Policy
Federal funding trims shift burdens to states, counties, cities Center Square 2/18/26 “North Carolina legislators who met Wednesday to discuss cutting property taxes were hit with a grim report on the future of federal funding for states and local governments that could actually drive up costs for many programs, making tax cuts more difficult.”
ACA enrollment dropped in NC. More expected to lose coverage Asheville C-T/NC Local 2/18/26 “The decline [in 2026, after enhanced subsidies ended] is about 22%, or 214,000 fewer enrollments, than in 2025, the largest drop in the country.” See also Center Square 2/19.
New Medicaid work rules likely to hit middle-aged adults hard NCNewsline 2/17/26
Nonprofits sue Trump admin as rule on hellbender protections stalls Asheville C-T 2/18/26 “Proposed for endangered species status in December 2024, the Fish and Wildlife Service described the salamander as playing a “crucial role” in maintaining freshwater ecosystems and supporting healthy river life.... But since the federal government proposed the new rule, no action has been taken. After President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January 2025, no plant or animal was added to the list, a first since 1981.” See also WLOS 2/18.
2026 Elections
💥 Letters from NC elections board confusing voters Carolina Public Press 2/17/26 “The North Carolina State Board of Elections sent letters to 241,000 voters in early February as part of a new effort to improve voter roll accuracy. The letters requested certain voters’ birthdays, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers. Providing this information is not a requirement to vote — in contrast to another recent effort, the Registration Repair Project.” See also NC News Digest 2/5. Also Hundreds flocked to NC election offices after registration letter sparked concern Raleigh N&O 2/19/26 “A letter sent to 241,000 North Carolina voters about their registration status sparked confusion and worry among some, who flooded county election offices with hundreds of calls and visits amid an already busy primary election season.... What the letter did not say was that recipients would have their vote counted normally regardless of whether they responded or not.” The NC BOE has posted a FAQ about this at its website.
💥 State board investigating allegations of misconduct by voter registration-drive workers WRAL 2/13/26 “Accusations include tampering with forms and misleading registrants. This probe could impact upcoming elections and voter trust.... The board said Friday that it received complaints alleging that workers have been impersonating state or county elections officials in Brunswick, Buncombe, Chowan, Haywood, Nash, Scotland, and Wake counties.” See also Carolina Journal 2/13, Asheville C-T 2/13, NCNewsline 2/16.
WCU students march miles to vote after on-campus polling site closure Smoky Mountain News 2/14/26 “They left campus on foot — with signs raised, chants echoing across the valley under clear blue winter skies — turning a routine civic act into a noisy, high-visibility public rebuke.”
Thousands gather for faith-based push against gerrymandering Carolina Public Press 2/16/26 “Rev. William J. Barber II tells thousands gathered to oppose authoritarian measures that turnout at the polls can blunt right-wing moves.”
Democrats Are Trying to Court Rural America, Once Again Assembly 2/12/26
North Carolina Primary Smorgasbord Anatomy of a Purple State 2/16/26
About Thom Tillis and the campaign for his US Senate seat:
Trump takes shots at Cooper; Congress leaves Washington as shutdown looms Raleigh N&O 2/16/26. On Friday in Fayetteville, “Trump turned the speech into a campaign event, inviting onto stage former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who is running for U.S. Senate, and took shots at his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper.” See also President Trump flouts military tradition with partisan Fort Bragg speech Raleigh N&O 2/20/26 “President Donald Trump stepped on stage … and told a group of military personnel to vote Republican.... Then he turned his attention to former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and asked Whatley to join him on stage. “He’s running for the Senate, and if he gets in, you’re going to be taken care of,” Trump said. “If he doesn’t get in, we’re going to be stripping the military, like they always do — the Democrats.””
The GOP crime problem PoliticsNC 2/13/26 “Michael Whatley needs to let us know where he stands on the pardoning sex abusers, selling pardons, and covering up the Epstein files.”
To Morrow PoliticsNC 2/18/26 “Michele Morrow may have run her course.”
The Morrow You Know Assembly 2/16/26 “Michele Morrow is betting the name recognition she earned in 2024 will help her win a U.S. Senate seat. But is all publicity good publicity?”
About Chuck Edwards and the campaign for his US House seat: Link to video of Mitchell County Democrats’ 2/14 candidate forum.
Not in WNC, but context for congressional races this year: Bernie Sanders’ Durham visit highlights political divide in NC-04 primary NCNewsline 2/13/26 “Sanders stumped for Nida Allam, a Durham County commissioner challenging incumbent Democrat Valerie Foushee.” See also WRAL 2/13, Raleigh N&O 2/13.
About state legislative campaigns:
Berger campaign accuses Democrats of interfering in his primary NCNewsline 2/13/26 “The campaign lashed out at progressive groups, alleging they were boosting Berger’s opponent in an effort to oust the state Senate’s top Republican.” See also Analysis: Unmasking the mystery money in the Phil Berger vs Sam Page contest NCNewsline 2/17/26
Candidate in Western NC, part of group taking on GOP lawmakers, shares priorities Raleigh N&O 2/15/26 “The district [NC House 117] in ... Henderson County has a Republican primary between Christopher Lamar Wilson and the incumbent, Rep. Jennifer Capps Balkcom. Balkcom has served two terms in the House. Wilson is part of a group of candidates running in Republican districts with a focus on getting more public school funding. [Democrat] Lynne Russo is running without opposition.”
Crossing the aisle. Key primary battles feature NC Democrats who sometimes vote with GOP Carolina Public Press 2/13/26 “In Northeastern NC, the two key legislative contests feature a primary election fight for candidates who voted with GOP to override vetoes.”
Judicial campaigns: In key NC Court of Appeals primary, Democrats compete to reverse six-year losing streak NCNewsline 2/19/26 “The choice between experience and advocacy could shed light on the party’s future direction.”
See also 💥In the Courts, below.
Helene Recovery
Tropical Storm Helene road repair costs near $5.8B in North Carolina Asheville C-T 2/19/26 “The estimated cost to repair Interstate 40 has increased to approximately $2 billion, making it the state’s most expensive road project.... North Carolina officials anticipate the federal government will reimburse about $4.8 billion of the total repair costs.”
News about federal recovery funding:
As Congress only covers 12% of Helene costs, WNC rallies for more funding Asheville C-T 2/16/26 “a bipartisan group of Western North Carolina leaders met with the American Flood Coalition Feb. 11 in Laurel Park reiterating frustrations regarding the federal recovery process. The meeting, which outlined the priorities of the bipartisan coalition, mainly stuck to one topic: funding.”
FEMA to reimburse western N.C. nearly $1.4M for Helene response costs WLOS 2/18/26
FEMA backs $55M Lake Tahoma cleanup [in McDowell County] as community waits for property buyout funds WLOS 2/17/26
And NC state recovery funding news:
Stein grants $5.7M for Hurricane Helene flood mitigation projects WRAL 2/16/26 “North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein announced grants for projects in the French Broad River Basin to restore floodplains, improve water quality, and reduce flood risks. The funding is part of a $96 million flood resiliency program.... created by the General Assembly and Department of Environmental Quality in 2021 to help local governments and agencies plan for flooding risks.” See also BPR 2/16.
More than $7.3M in funding is going to support Helene-damaged dams in N.C. WLOS 2/16/26 “According to a new announcement from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources (DEMLR) the money will head to support repairs on what DEMLR considers “high hazard” dams.” See also WLOS 2/16 (dam in Marion).
Lawmakers, state officials clash over Helene projects pace Carolina Journal 2/18/26 “In a statement released in Raleigh on Feb. 18, members of the North Carolina House of Representatives representing storm-impacted districts called for reducing administrative barriers they say are slowing repairs. The statement was issued by state Reps. Karl Gillespie, Dudley Greene, Mark Pless, Mike Clampitt, Jake Johnson, Jennifer Balkcom, and Ray Pickett. “While the NC General Assembly has appropriated a historic amount of funds to help Western North Carolinians rebuild private roads and bridges, Governor Stein has presided over a stifling bureaucracy utterly lacking in common sense and resourcefulness,” the lawmakers said.”
Gov. Josh Stein appoints 3 WNC leaders to advise him. Who are they? Asheville C-T/NC Local 2/18/26 “Highland Brewing Company owner Leah Wong Ashburn will serve as an at-large member on the Governor’s Advisory Committee on WNC Recovery,... [along with Asheville] Mayor Esther Manheimer and Dogwood Health Trust Board Chair Jack Cecil.”
Chimney Rock Post Office to reopen after 2024 closure from Helene WLOS 2/14/26. On Feb. 23.
Around NC
Your zip code can determine your fate in North Carolina’s medical deserts Cardinal & Pine 2/17/26 “Seventy of North Carolina’s 78 rural counties are considered “medical deserts.”” See also Healing Rural N.C., One Doctor At a Time Assembly 2/16/26 “North Carolina doesn’t have enough physicians to treat the nearly 3 million people who live in rural communities. State health officials want to use federal Rural Health Transformation Program funds to help train more.”
Data centers threaten energy affordability, NC task force says NCNewsline 2/17/26. See also Carolina Journal 2/17, Center Square 2/17.
No refunds after court overturns 2024 Duke Energy rate adjustments Carolina Journal 2/18/26 “North Carolina Court of Appeals has determined that the state Utilities Commission made a mistake in 2024 when allowing Duke Energy to raise rates based on unrecovered fuel costs from 2022. Yet a change in state law in 2025 means that customers will see no refunds based on the mistake.”
NC State Government
Executive Branch
Governor
See Helene Recovery, above.
State Attorney General
💥 Attorney General Jeff Jackson Asks Court to Enforce Order Requiring FEMA to Reinstate NC’s $200 Million Infrastructure Program NC DOJ press release 2/17/26 “... to enforce its earlier order requiring FEMA to reinstate the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) disaster mitigation program…. In its December order, the court required FEMA to “promptly take all steps necessary to reverse the termination of the BRIC program.” Despite this directive, FEMA has failed to restart the BRIC program, fund critical projects already in the pipeline, or take applications for new BRIC projects. Not only is FEMA flouting the court, but it is continuing to disregard Congress’s directive to fund disaster mitigation. As a result, time-sensitive community safety projects have been stalled despite local governments doing everything they were supposed to do.” See also NCNewsline 2/17, Raleigh N&O 2/17.
Uber, fake service dogs, and 50 chessboards Quick Update (Jeff Jackson’s Substack) 2/18/26 “A snapshot of the last few weeks.”
State Legislature
Property taxes again in crosshairs of NC lawmakers WRAL 2/18/26 “Property taxes fund city and county operations, and are set by local community leaders. State legislators are examining whether they can order changes.” See also WUNC 2/18 and NC-Related…, above.
NC keeps expanding its role in immigration enforcement. Why it matters Asheville C-T/NC Local 2/20/26 “Immigration enforcement is largely a federal responsibility, but over the past decade, North Carolina lawmakers have steadily expanded the state’s role. Three bills passed in the last 15 months marked perhaps the biggest shift in the state’s policies, codifying the mandate to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement into state law.”
N.C. prosecutors push to separate from court administration NCNewsline 2/13/26 “The proposal, presented Thursday [2/12] to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety, would allow the state’s 42 district attorneys to collectively control their own staffing, payroll, technology, and budget.”
See also Helene Recovery, above.
In the Courts
💥 Republicans and NC elections board settle federal voter registration lawsuit NCNewsline 2/17/26 “Under the settlement filed Monday, the state agreed to continue its Registration Repair project seeking to collect the missing information and to reject registration applications where voters don’t supply government ID numbers or check a box indicating they don’t have one. Federal Judge Richard Myers must sign off on the settlement.... About 70,000 people remain on the list.” See also Raleigh N&O 2/17.
Critics of northeastern NC Senate districts make case to 4th Circuit Carolina Journal 2/18/26 “Critics challenging North Carolina’s two northeastern North Carolina state Senate districts offered their written arguments Tuesday to a federal Appeals Court…. Two plaintiffs argue that the districts are based on illegal racial gerrymandering that dilutes black voters’ influence.”
Judge strikes order saying NC elections board violated own rules Carolina Journal 2/13/26 “A day after issuing a ruling that the North Carolina State Board of Elections violated its own rules and must conduct a new hearing into local elections board members, an administrative law judge issued a new order striking her own ruling.” The issue was whether “county board of elections members failed to follow a state board directive requiring the removal of early votes cast by individuals who died before Election Day, Nov. 8, 2024.”
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Not yet spring, but soon. Daffodils emerging:
