VOLUME 6 ISSUE 44 | WWW.NSJONLINE.COM | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2021
Blast into 2022 Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope onboard, lifts off Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021, at Europe’s Spaceport, the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope has blasted off on a high-stakes quest to behold light from the first stars and galaxies. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope rocketed away Saturday from French Guiana in South America.
2022 Major events in NC When the calendar flips to 2022, there will be a lot happening across the state, from festivals to sporting events and more. Blowing Rock Winterfest January 27–30, 2022 Blowing Rock The winter festival has been a tradition for over 20 years and features a polar bear plunge, chili cook off, ice carving, and more. Mike Krzyzewski’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium March 5, 2022 Durham Coach K’s final game has drawn unprecedented ticket prices for those who want to be in the building for the legendary leader’s last time as head coach after 42 seasons at the helm of the Blue Devils.
ESA-CNES-ARIANESPACE VIA AP
ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament
Democrats must defy history to win 2022 Senate race
March 2–6, 2022 Greensboro The Greensboro Coliseum plays host to the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament for the 22nd time in the past 23 years. North Carolina Azaelea Festival April 6–10, 2022 Wilmington Spring in Wilmington means the return of the annual celebration of the Azaelea. Each year, colorful parades, home tours, and nationally known music build to the crowning the Azaelea Queen.
By Matt Mercer North State Journal
MerleFest April 30–May 1, 2022 Wilkesboro Founded in 1988 as a fundraiser for Wilkes Community College, MerleFest celebrates “roots” music — traditional Appalachian music and, as Doc Watson says, “whatever we feel like playing that day.” Coca-Cola 600 May 29, 2022 Concord The stars of NASCAR make their Memorial Day return to the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the series’ longest race of the season. NC Black Bear Festival June 4-5, 2022 Plymouth The largest black bears on the planet are found in eastern North Carolina and they’ll be celebrated at the 7th Annual state Black Bear Festival. The Albemarle-Pamlico peninsula is also home to the highest concentration of black bears in the world. Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament June 10–19, 2022 Morehead City Last year, over 750 boats entered Big Rock to compete, the most since 1999. Interest in the tournament has grown and even brought Michael Jordan out for a few days on the water. Winston-Salem Open August 20-27, 2022 Winston-Salem The Wake Forest University Tennis Complex plays host to the only major professional tennis tournament in the state in August. The yearly event is the last ATP World Tour 250 event prior to the US Open in September and more than 40 of the world’s top 80 players compete for the trophy.
McConnell openly courts Manchin to leave Democrats, join GOP By Kevin Freking The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mitch McConnell is done with subtleties. The Senate Republican leader is putting his party’s courtship of Joe Manchin on full public display after the West Virginia Democrat’s fractious split with the White House over the president’s big social and environmental spending package. McConnell says Manchin “feels like a man alone” and if he were to switch parties, “he would be joining a lot of folks who have similar views on a whole range of issues.” Whether Manchin is open to McConnell’s appeal — he has consistently said he still sees himself as a Democrat — is uncertain. But it is clear that if he were to switch it would fundamentally alter the balance of power in Washington as well as seriously threaten Joe Biden’s legislative prospects for the rest of his presidency. McConnell dangled the prospect of Manchin retaining his prized Energy Committee chairmanship during an interview last week and played up the West Virginian’s growing distance from Democrats in his opposition to Biden’s package. A flip by Manchin would give Republicans control of the Senate and effectively end any chance of Democrats being able
to get legislation or nominations through on party-line votes. The rift escalated after Manchin said one week ago that he couldn’t vote for the social spending package that Democrats have pitched as their top domestic priority going into next year’s elections. “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” Manchin told “Fox News Sunday.” That prompted a sharply worded response from White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who said Manchin had “in person” given Biden a written proposal that was “the same size and scope” as a framework for the bill that Democrats rallied behind in October — and that he had agreed to continue talks. “We will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word,” Psaki said. The White House had basically called Manchin “a liar,” McConnell said in a radio appearance on the Hugh Hewitt Show. “It was astonishing. Usually when you’ve got a member who is a little bit out of sync with everybody else, you give them a lot of love. They did exactly the opSee MANCHIN, page A2
Carolina Renaissance Festival October 1–November 20, 2022 Huntersville History meets the present during the annual Renaissance Festival, bringing crowds to stroll through a 16th century European village with an artisan market, jousting knights on horseback and more. NC State Fair October 13–23, 2022 Raleigh The State Fair returns after a successful 2021, in which crowds came back for the food, livestock, shows, and celebration of all things North Carolina. Lexington Barbecue Festival October 22, 2022 Lexington After a two-year hiatus, the Lexington Barbecue Festival is anticipated across the state and region, celebrating one of our state’s gems: pulled pork barbecue.
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE | AP PHOTO
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives for an end-of-the-year news conference, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021.
RALEIGH — N.C. Democrats are confronting a trend working against them in the last 30 years of elections: they’ve won just two U.S. Senate races in that time frame. In the 10 U.S. Senate races in that time (1992, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2020) they’ve managed to win just twice, 10 years apart, in elections in 1998 and 2008. Democrats won both of those races by denying Republican incumbents a second term. John Edwards, a trial lawyer who burst on the state political scene, defeated Republican Lauch Faircloth in 1998. Edwards, of course, would go on to run for president twice and was John Kerry’s vice-presidential nominee in 2004. After a spectacular fall from grace, Edwards is back to practicing law in the state. Ten years after Edwards won, it was then-state Sen. Kay Hagan defeating an incumbent, Elizabeth Dole. That race, which was historic for featuring two women for a major statewide office, turned nasty and is best remembered for an infamous ad run by Dole’s campaign. That ad, which cited an endorsement from an atheist organization for Hagan, coupled with the
energy and enthusiasm behind the coattails of Barack Obama, likely resulted in Hagan’s victory. In two cases, the state’s socalled “blue moon” elections could have resulted in wins for Democrats. The political environments in 2006 and 2018 cost Republicans nationally, losing both the House and Senate in ‘06 and the House in ‘18. With one-third of Senate races contested every two years, though, both years happened to fall with no race on the ballot for N.C. voters. Republicans Faircloth, Jesse Helms, Richard Burr, Dole, and Thom Tillis each won races, with Burr winning re-election twice and Tillis most recently re-elected in 2020. Their races were not without their own unique features. Faircloth, a longtime Democrat, switched parties not long before running for Senate and won the Republican race in 1992, defeating Terry Sanford. In a sign of the political environment, Faircloth boasted he wanted to be the state’s conservative senator — no small feat given the other seat had been held by Helms since 1973. In 1996, Helms would win re-election for the final time, in a rematch against his 1990 opponent, Harvey Gantt. The 2002 race would see an See SENATE page A3
North Carolina education superintendent to roll out new parent council in 2022 Truitt said parent voices need a platform; criticizes U.S. attorney general memo By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — N.C. State Superintendent Catherine Truitt tells North State Journal she has plans to establish a new parent council in 2022. “What we’ve seen happen with school boards and parents these past few months reminded me of something that I ran on — and that is the importance of parent voice,” said Truitt. “When I declared my candidacy, there were no Critical Race Theory debates, and there was no pandemic, and what I spoke about often on the campaign trail was the need for K-12 education leaders to see parents as consumers,” Truitt said. “And in my support of school choice in all of its forms. I have frequently said that the parent is the best person to decide what’s right for their child’s education and that no one cares more about that child than that child’s parents or guardians,” said Truitt. “And to that end, I will, in the New Year, be announcing the formation of a new parent council.” See EDUCATION, page A2
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