Marc Basnight, longest serving NC Senate leader, dies at 73
FILE - In a May 2006 file photo, Senate leader Marc Basnight speaks on the Senate floor at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, N.C. Basnight died Monday, Dec. 28, 2020, at age 73. Despite humble beginnings and little formal education, Basnight rose through state politics to serve in the Senate for 26 years. His nine two-year terms as Senate president pro tempore made him the longest-serving head of a legislative body in North Carolina history. While Senate leader, GOP senators complained Basnight had consolidated too much power. Bob Jordan died in February, while Sen. Tony Rand, who was majority leader and rules committee chairman under Basnight, died in May.
Pandemic overwhelms Trump's message in critical N. Carolina
Trump's challenge is acute here in North Carolina, a state that his senior aides describe as a โmust-win." She said the Supreme Court debate might help motivate each side's base, including some โfence sittersโ who may not have voted at all. Biden's team has largely relied on advertising to communicate its message, however, because the candidate himself has not been a regular presence in North Carolina โ or anywhere โ during the pandemic. โHe needs to pick up his game some,โ said former North Carolina Gov. "This has been one of the more grueling canvassing efforts Iโve ever been part of," said McCoy, a veteran of North Carolina politics.
โTrump is putting countless Virginiansโ lives at risk' say former Virginia, NC governors about rally
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. โ President Donald Trumpโs rally in Virginia on Friday evening has brought criticism from Democratic leaders. The visit to Newport News is an attempt to reach rural North Carolinians, according to party officials. In a joint statement from former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt, they say that Trump has failed more than 200,000 Americans who died from coronavirus with how he has been handling the pandemic. โPresident Trump is putting countless Virginians' lives at risk in order to hold a political rally during a pandemic and prop up his chances in North Carolina,โ the two say in the statement. Hereโs McAuliffe and Huntโs full statement: