Polk Lore

I haven't conducted any polling, but I am willing to bet that the world view of my guest for this episode, soldier turned strategic consultant Adam Smith, is shared by many thousands of registered Republicans. 

I have no doubt that is true for most of North Carolina Congressional District 11. So I tried not to make this an ideological debate. Just an exploration of why one candidate for this seat has concluded that the incumbent, Chuck Edwards, isn’t doing the job that a conservative Republican should be doing.

Resources:

• Adam Smith For Congress
• 
  "Gay frog" research (Duke University Press)
• Alleged porn in Jackson County
• How much is Bernie Sanders really worth?

According to the North Carolina Rural Center, 446 houses and 60 rental units were damaged or destroyed by Tropical Storm Helene. Sixteen months later, dozens of families are still living in temporary housing, which, as the tail end of January proved, is often not to up to task of providing decent shelter when the good old polar vortex gets shoved a thousand miles south of where it belongs.

Putting people back on their feet, or just under a roof, is not easy. It takes money, of course. But it also takes an understanding of how societies function, and how people think of themselves and their place in the greater community. And a solid understanding of property law and the endless list of regulations that guide government assistance programs goes a long way, too.

Michelle Edwards, the executive director of the Polk Referral Center, has thought on all of that.

Resources

Polk Referral Center website

Winter brings a fight to stay warm for those displaced by Helene and living in RVs (PBR, January 28, 2026)

Road to Recovery: Housing Recovery in Western North Carolina (NC Rural Center, February 2026)

Deadline to Apply for Renew NC Post-Helene Housing Recovery is Jan. 31 (NC Dept. of Commerce, Jan. 30, 2026)

Keenan Nesbitt has worked for two different police departments in our region. When asked to describe his relevant qualities, he came up with "young, aspirational, and fearless." His vision of a sheriff’s department is one the fosters a community of love, respect, and trust. 

In this episode, we talk about why he thinks Polk County’s current sheriff isn’t doing enough to bring about that vision, why he’s decided to do the heavy lifting of getting on the ballot as an independent, and what can be done to restore the trust that the public once had in its law enforcement officers.

Resources

Keenan Nesbitt for Sheriff on Facebook

and Instagram

Polk County Elections

UNC cell biologist Paul Maddox is more than a little frustrated with the lack of intelligence in evidence in Washington these days. He’s one of a historic number of scientists running for office this year. Which should tell you something. For this episode, though, he doesn't claim his PhD makes him more qualified than the other Democrats who want the seat he's after: NC 11 of the US House of Representatives.

We don't talk about recent example of stupid behavior in politics. We even avoid any mention of the changes in the recommended vaccination schedules that will almost certainly lead to more unnecessary deaths. Instead, we talk about more fundamental ideas: what do the people of western North Carolina want from their politicians? Are we really ready to abandon respect for science and expertise? And is it still possible to win an election by running on who you are instead of just which party you represent?

I have been thinking about an episode on soccer ever since I started this podcast more than three years ago — and since I became soccer dad and started watching Premier League games from Europe with my son. Recent events conspired in favor of doing one sooner than later. 

My guests are Polk High School boys’ soccer coach George Alley and two of his top players  — seniors Will Garrison and Thomas Varnadore. Their team made it all the way to the state finals this year. Given how popular soccer is becoming — both here and around the country, I was curious about the future of local soccer.

Sources
Polk High School Boys Soccer records

Unlike just about everyone else who is running to unseat an incumbent in 2026, Republican Mike Hager is not a political newcomer, not by a long shot. He served as state representative for District 112 for six years, finishing up as House Majority Leader — until 2016, when he gave up his seat to look after his parents. Back then, his home in Rutherford County was in District 112. Now it’s in 113, along with Polk, Henderson, and little bit of McDowell counties. Hager’s obligations aren’t quite an onerous now, and he wants back in the game. 

Over the past eight years, he’s kept a hand in politics, working behind the scenes as what he calls a “State Government Relations Specialist.” He’s on the local Habitat for Humanity board and is a member of the Greenhill Volunteer Fire Department.

And he thinks his opponent, Jake Johnson, who is literally half his age, is vulnerable.  This could be the race to watch during next spring's primaries. We talked at the Saluda Library earlier this month.

Resources

NC State Board of Elections Results

Cody Henson resigns

Jake Johnson to run again

Mike Hager campaign

The Republican majority in the NC state house, led by then–NC House Speaker Tim Moore, recently redrew Congressional District 14 to strongly favor candidates with Rs after their name. Moore went on to run in that district, winning easily and making it hard to dream up scenarios in which even the most popular Democrat can win in next year's election.

A serious challenger in the Republican primary is just as unlikely, although one Democrat has recently switched her party registration in hopes of achieving exactly. If Kate Barr's campaign gets any traction, I'll try to get her on Polk Lore in the not-too-distant future.

Meanwhile, there is at least one Democrat willing to dare to run against Moore. And, despite the odds, there’s a good chance he actually knows what he’s getting into. Brent Caldwell may not be familiar to most voters, and he has never run for public office before, but he’s been working behind the scenes in the Democratic Party for decades. He’s already paid a couple of visits to Polk County. He showed up for the No Kings Rally in Columbus last month, and then returned a couple of weeks later to attend a Polk Democrats gathering at FENCE.

Just before that event, we found a couple of rocking chairs on the porch of the Democratic Party Headquarters in Columbus and turned on the microphones.

Resources

Brent Caldwell for Congress

Yellow Dog Wire

Tariffs: The Horse Industry’s Journey into the Great Unknown

NC-14 Redistricting controversy

One of every eight Americans makes use of federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. One out of eight. Let that sink in for a minute. 

In Polk County, things aren’t quite as bad, at just one in nine. That’s still awful. But it’s much worse in some places. Next door in Rutherford County, for example, it’s about one in five. Why do we, the richest country in the history of the world, accept such a shameful state of affairs?

The executive director of Thermal Belt Outreach, Margot Carter, and I tackle that question.

Resources

Thermal Belt Outreach

SNAP

SNAP Participation rates by county

SNAP funding, shutdowns, and the law

Note that in the interview, Margot discusses who among Outreach clients are unemployed: the 5% figure is based on Outreach 2025 financial assistance applications and those who were eligible for employment.

Zelda Briarwood is a 35-year-old former wilderness therapist and banking field technician who is, to be blunt, running an uphill battle for the nomination. But the truth is, neither of the better-known challengers has any more political experience than she does. Which is to say they are all starting their runs for the US Congress from absolute zero. That says a lot about the Democratic Party in District Eleven. And not necessarily in a bad way.

This is the third in a series of interviews with candidates seeking public office next year.

Resources

https://www.zeldaforcongress.org

Dr. Richard Hudspeth is the former CEO of Blue Ridge Health, a non-profit agency that helps folks in Polk and other counties in western North Carolina get the physical, mental, and dental care that they might not otherwise have access to. He’s also a general practitioner. So, it’s fair to say he probably has a pretty good idea of what works — and what doesn’t — in the U.S. health care system. That understanding is what’s behind his campaign for the job of congressman for North Carolina District 11.

In this episode we talk about whether that diagnosis can be applied to the country's political problems in general.

Resources:

⁠Richard Hudspeth for Congress⁠

⁠The fight over healthcare insurance subsidies⁠

Effects of GOP legislation on NC medicaid coverage