The state budget is now nearly three months late, a Supreme Court Justice quits to run for governor, proposals to expand casinos stir up controversy, a man who called for a new election in 2018 after someone on his campaign allegedly committed election fraud is running again in 2024. 

Phew, what a time in North Carolina politics. 

This week, strategists Morgan Jackson and Jonathan Felts help sort it out in the bluntest of terms. Jackson works for Gov. Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein. Felts was George W. Bush’s political director and helped Ted Budd win his U.S. Senate race in 2022.