While Republicans did not do as well as they wanted nationally, they did better than average in North Carolina winning the U.S. Senate race and sweeping both state Supreme Court seats. For years, we’ve heard North Carolina is a purple state politically, meaning it’s even and a battleground.

But is that true? 

The dynamics and details beyond the headline are fascinating and we are talking with two of the premiere political scientists who are studying it and publishing articles on the issues. Our guests this week are Catawba College’s Dr. Michael Bitzer and Western Carolina University’s Dr. Chris Cooper