North Carolina politics is never boring, but 2026 is shaping up to be unusually consequential. In most election years, you circle November and work backward. Whatever drama is unfolding in Washington ends up tinting everything else down the ballot.

Summer keeps getting hotter in North Carolina and summer 2026 will be another scorcher broken by more rain. The National Climate Center forecast for June through August calls for temperatures and precipitation across the Southeast to be above normal.

For the first time in North Carolina’s history, registered Republicans now outnumber registered Democrats. According to data from the State Board of Elections, the GOP surpassed Democrats on Saturday, with a total of 2,315,067 registered voters — about 2,000 more than Democrats.

It’s the second-straight election cycle in which Leake faces a high–profile challenge. She defeated Charles Osborne in the 2024 Democratic primary despite him picking up notable endorsements and donations from the influential Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and two of Leake’s fellow commissioners.

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