NC Deep Dive

Your ballot can feel like a wall of names and amendments, but the stakes are personal: grocery bills, child care costs, crowded classrooms, traffic that steals time, and property taxes that keep climbing. We sit down with Winn Decker, democratic candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives in District 37, to get specific about what’s changing in fast-growing Southern Wake County and what the General Assembly can actually do about it. 

We start with the two issues voters raise most often at the door: affordability and public education. Winn lays out why he sees fully funded public schools as essential infrastructure, from teacher pay and retention to the real-world building needs that affect learning right now. We also dig into the hard questions around opportunity scholarships, private school accountability, and how to make sure “choice” doesn’t come at the expense of the 90% of North Carolina students served by public schools. 

Growth brings its own conflicts, so we talk about roads, stormwater, drinking water, and whether development is happening “to” communities instead of “with” them. Winn shares his approach to data centers and community impacts, including his simple litmus test for large power users: bring your own clean energy. Then we zoom out to privacy and surveillance tools like automated license plate readers, exploring the idea of a data bill of rights, and we close with taxes, fiscal responsibility, and warnings about a potential fiscal cliff tied to revenue choices like corporate tax cuts. 

If you care about Wake County schools, infrastructure planning, privacy, or the 2026 election in North Carolina, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with a neighbor, and leave a review so more voters can find it.

Winn Decker: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram

[email protected]

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

Early Voting - October 15-31

Closest Early Voting Locations

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

Beech Bluff County Park

Wake Tech-Southern Campus

ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, November 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

The most overlooked races on your ballot can have the most day-to-day impact on where you live. In Southern Wake County, the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor contest sits right at the crossroads of development, clean water, stormwater runoff, and what happens to the farms and open land that still define so much of our quality of life.

I’m joined by candidate Jim White for a clear, nuts-and-bolts look at what this office actually does. We talk about why the district is designed to collaborate more than regulate, how conservation goals get translated into programs that help landowners address erosion and runoff, and why fast growth forces hard decisions about watersheds, buffers, and long-term planning. Jim also raises the issue of legacy environmental risk, including older landfills that may need deeper assessment to protect nearby communities.

One of the most practical threads is his local food system proposal: making it easier for Wake County institutions, especially public schools, to buy from Wake County farms. We explore farm-to-school purchasing, food hubs, value-added processing like freezing and packaging, and why a dependable wholesale path could help farms stay profitable enough to resist developer pressure. If you care about farmland preservation, sustainable agriculture, water quality, and smart growth in Wake County, this conversation gives you real context for your vote.

Subscribe for the rest of our 2026 election candidate conversations, share this with a neighbor who skips the back of the ballot, and leave a review with your biggest question about growth and conservation in Wake County.

Jim White: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook

[email protected]

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

Early Voting - October 15-31

Closest Early Voting Locations

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

Beech Bluff County Park

Wake Tech-Southern Campus

ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, November 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

We talk with John Adcock, Republican candidate for Wake County Board of Commissioners District 2, about what Southern Wake needs from county government and how he plans to measure every decision against local impact. We focus on affordability, transportation, transparency, and what accountability should look like when the county makes billion-dollar choices. 

• district-only voting and what it changes for representation in Southern Wake 
• property tax increases, revaluation cycles, and how higher taxes flow into rents and mortgage escrow payments 
• fiscal responsibility and using tax base growth without raising the tax rate 
• transportation priorities, road funding gaps, and coordination with municipalities and nearby counties 
• Wake Transit Plan concerns, sales tax funding, and the status of commuter rail 
• open space preservation and what should be kept as growth continues 
• public safety goals, 911 response expectations, and planning for emergencies 
• education funding scale, school bonds, classroom resources, and accountability for spending 
• housing affordability drivers, utility coordination, and the county role in homelessness services 
• transparency in county decision-making, including the WakeMed Atrium Health merger process 
• how voters can reach the candidate and what to hold an elected commissioner accountable for 

If you found value in this episode, I'd love for you to subscribe, rate, and share it so that others may more easily be informed. 

John B. Adcock: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram

[email protected]

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

Early Voting - October 15-31

Closest Early Voting Locations

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

Beech Bluff County Park

Wake Tech-Southern Campus

ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, November 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

Judicial races are the ones most people skip and they might be the ones that shape your life the fastest. We sit down with Christine Walczyk, a Wake County trial judge and democratic candidate for the North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 3 race, to translate what the appellate courts actually do, why their decisions set statewide precedent, and how recent changes mean the Court of Appeals often becomes the final word for everyday North Carolinians.

We talk candidly about the growing perception that judges rule along party lines, what politicization does to public trust, and why an independent judiciary is supposed to serve as a check on the other branches. Christine explains how appellate judging differs from trial work, why clear and well-reasoned opinions matter, and how she thinks about judicial restraint, precedent, and the rare moments when the law must evolve to meet modern realities like new technology and new forms of surveillance.

Then we dig into a practical problem that shows up in eviction, custody, and domestic violence cases every day: access to justice. We unpack “legal deserts,” the high cost of bringing civil cases, and how IOLTA (interest on lawyer trust accounts) funding supports legal aid and pro bono services. When that funding shrinks or eligibility changes, real people lose real help, and the system becomes harder to navigate without a lawyer. We also cover court funding constraints, accountability and ethics, and what voters should expect from judges beyond a party label.

If you care about constitutional rights, due process, court transparency, and fair access to legal help, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who could use more info about the judicial races and the upcoming mid-term election.

Christine Walczyk: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram

[email protected]

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

Early Voting - October 15-31

Closest Early Voting Locations 

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

Beech Bluff County Park

Wake Tech-Southern Campus

ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, November 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

Your rent is up, groceries cost more than they did last year, and health care still feels like a maze with a price tag attached. That’s the backdrop for our Candidate Conversation with Paul Barringer, the Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, where he makes the case that Congress should stop rubber-stamping and start protecting everyday people.

We dig into the three issues he says are front and center for District 13 voters: affordability, health care, and corruption. Paul draws on decades of health care policy and legal work to explain why access to affordable coverage is often the difference between getting care and going without, what he believes is at stake for Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies, and why reforms have to lower the underlying cost of care, not just shift the bill around. He also lays out an anti-corruption agenda aimed at rebuilding trust, including stronger ethics rules and a push to ban stock trading by members of Congress.

Then we widen the lens to what’s landing locally right now: transportation and infrastructure for rapidly growing communities, the rise of hyperscale AI data centers in rural North Carolina, and the privacy risks that come with governments and contractors holding massive amounts of personal data. We close with practical voting reminders for the 2026 midterm election so you can make a plan and help your neighbors do the same.

If this conversation helps you sort through the noise, subscribe, share the episode with a friend in NC, and leave a review so more voters can find it.

Paul Barringer: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram/Threads/X/Bluesky/TikTok/YouTube

[email protected]

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

Early Voting - October 15-31

Closest Early Voting Locations 

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

Beech Bluff County Park

Wake Tech-Southern Campus

ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, November 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

Politics gets real when it touches the streets you drive, the schools your kids sit in, and the bills that show up every month. That’s why we sat down with NC Senate District 17 Republican candidate Shirley Johnson for a wide-ranging, specific conversation focused on Southern Wake County communities like Holly Springs and Apex, plus the fast-changing edge of Raleigh.

We start with why she’s running and the experiences she says prepare her to lead on day one, then move straight into public safety and the justice system. She explains why she sees enforcement and accountability as a key leverage point, and how her work around human trafficking shapes her view of victim services and stronger penalties for offenders. From there, we get practical about growth: roads, infrastructure planning, whether the state is keeping pace, and when partnering with the federal government can help close the gap without dumping costs onto local taxpayers.

Next, we tackle issues that are driving intense local debate: data centers, energy demand, rising utility rates, noise, and the bigger question of who should have authority when a project impacts a town’s quality of life. We also talk housing affordability and property taxes, including seniors feeling squeezed and working families struggling to buy into a market shaped by corporate investors. Finally, we spend time on public education, school choice, the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship, and what “fixing public schools” looks like in concrete terms, including admin overhead, classroom conditions, teacher support, and student proficiency.

You’ll also hear key reminders for the 2026 election, including early voting dates, registration rules, and why checking your sample ballot matters. If this helps you get clearer on your vote, subscribe, share the episode with a neighbor, and leave a review so more voters can find these candidate conversations.

Shirley Johnson: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram/TikTok

[email protected]

984-284-0068

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

Closest Early Voting Locations - October 15-31

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

Beech Bluff County Park

Wake Tech-Southern Campus

ELECTION DAY
 Tuesday, November 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

This episode breaks down the Democratic primary for North Carolina House District 37, where Winn Decker, Ralph Clements, and Marcus Gadson are competing to face Republican incumbent Erin Paré in November.

Decker leans on his bipartisan policy experience and coordinated planning, focusing on housing, infrastructure, and schools to keep pace with Wake County’s growth. Clements emphasizes consumer protections, fair utilities, and stronger public investments, including competitive teacher pay and universal school meals. Gadson centers on direct tax relief, expanding housing supply, and broader structural reforms, including changes to judicial elections.

We also explore how each candidate approaches healthcare, climate resilience, public safety, and democratic safeguards like redistricting. Whether your priority is school funding, affordability, or systemic reform, this episode helps you understand which candidate’s approach aligns with your values.

NC House of Representatives District 37 Candidates

Winn Decker: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram/[email protected]

Ralph Clements: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky/[email protected]

Marcus Gadson: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram/X/[email protected]

2026 Voters' Guide for Southern Wake County

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

Closest Early Voting Locations
February 12-28

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, March 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

In this episode we zoom into the District 17 NC Senate race that will be on the Republican Ballot. Sarah Al-Baghdadi positions herself as a community-focused contender with experience in law enforcement, substitute teaching, and small business. She centers mental health, promises high accessibility, and raises concerns about proposed data centers, though her public record is light—no campaign website yet and minimal filings beyond committee paperwork.

Shirley Johnson offers a detailed platform anchored in public safety, parental rights, school choice, and fiscal responsibility. With a decade on a state senate staff, leadership at a Child Advocacy Center and CASA, and service on an FBI Human Trafficking Task Force, she connects policy to family outcomes. She argues for strengthening penalties for violent crime, auditing education spending to fund teacher pay without raising taxes, and expanding housing supply by curbing overly restrictive local zoning. On hot-button issues, she supports tighter abortion limits with narrow exceptions, legislative control of redistricting, and clear standards for data center incentives tied to energy, water, and community impact. She also outlines climate resilience through research-driven infrastructure and better disaster preparedness.

If you want a policy blueprint with line-by-line positions on safety, schools, and growth, Johnson gives you a lot to evaluate. If you want a neighbor-first representative who promises responsiveness and district-led priorities, Al-Baghdadi makes a service-forward case. 

Find this helpful? Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a neighbor who’s voting in District 17. Your voice moves North Carolina—what will you choose?

Republican Ballot: NC Senate District 17 Candidates

Sarah Al-Baghdadi: [email protected] (no website or campaign finance reports filed)

Shirley Johnson: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram/TikTok/[email protected]

2026 Voters' Guide for Southern Wake County

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

Closest Early Voting Locations
February 12-28

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, March 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

Wake County’s next District Attorney will shape how justice works every day; and this year, the Democratic primary effectively decides the office. There is no Republican challenger, so the primary winner will take the seat in November.

This episode breaks down the three-way race — Sherita Walton, Melanie Shekita, and Wiley Nickel — and translates their platforms into real stakes: which cases get prosecuted, who gets a second chance, and what builds public safety.

We explain how the primary works, outline the DA’s powers, then compare each candidate’s approach. Walton brings cross-jurisdiction prosecutorial experience and advisory work with Raleigh PD, focusing on transparency, specialized units, and youth engagement. Shekita brings 27 years in Wake courtrooms, leads the Special Victims Unit, and promises hands-on prosecution of violent felonies with targeted diversion. Nickel focuses on fixing understaffing, launching a mental health court, and restoring the office’s public corruption role.

We highlight contrasts on bail, mental health, and low-level marijuana cases — while noting shared ground: firm lines on violent and sexual offenses and expanded diversion for appropriate first-time and youth cases.

This episode unpacks what’s at stake as Wake County chooses its next District Attorney.

Wake County District Attorney Candidates

Sherita Walton: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/[email protected]

Melanie Shekita: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram/[email protected]

Wiley Nickel: Campaign Finance Report

Facebook/Instagram/X/Bluesky/TikTok

2026 Voters' Guide for Southern Wake County

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

February 12-28: Closest Early Voting Locations

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, March 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

The quiet races decide so much. This GOP primary for North Carolina’s Court of Appeals Seat 1 asks a sharp question: what kind of experience best prepares a judge to review the law—meticulous appellate-ready opinions or years of trial-tested judgment?

We walk through the ballot basics, then dig into two distinct judicial résumés. Administrative Law Judge Michael C. Byrne spotlights nearly 400 written decisions, nine unanimously affirmed on appeal, and a long track record representing law enforcement and public employees. He leans on major endorsements from the NC Fraternal Order of Police, the NC Police Benevolent Association, and NAPO, and cites key employment and Certificate of Need cases to show depth in complex, highly regulated disputes. His core message: get it right, protect due process, apply the law rather than make it, and write opinions that stand up on review.

Superior Court Judge Matt Smith brings breadth from the trial bench: almost two decades as a trial lawyer, service on the district court, and now presiding in superior courts across 15 counties. He argues that most of the Court of Appeals’ workload mirrors what he sees daily, and he stakes his candidacy on a constitutional conservative approach—text first, precedent for stability, and narrow rulings that avoid activism. His questionnaire responses track a disciplined method: honor legislative presumptions of constitutionality, respect burdens of proof, and keep personal views out of outcomes.

If this helped you prepare for early voting, share it with a friend, subscribe for more NC election deep dives, and leave a quick review so others can find the show. Your vote matters; let’s make it an informed one.

Republican Ballot: NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 1 Candidates

Michael C. Byrne: Facebook/Instagram/[email protected]

Matt Smith: Facebook/[email protected]

2026 Voters' Guide for Southern Wake County

Voter Information (Register, Am I Registered?, Election Information)
Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
Election Information (Absentee by Mail Voting, Early Voting, Election Day Voting)

Closest Early Voting Locations

February 12-28

WE Hunt Recreation Center-Holly Springs

Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse-Fuquay Varina

ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, March 3 from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email [email protected].  Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!