As workplace fatalities rise, the two candidates for the top regulatory job have starkly different platforms.
Jim Morrill
Jim Morrill covered politics and government for The Charlotte Observer for 39 years. Follow him on X @jimmorrill.
An Independent Candidateโs Tough Battle
Shelane Etchison broke gender barriers in Afghanistan and Syria. Now shes’s running to break the two-party system.
Jim Huntโs Daughter Tries to Win In a New North Carolina
Rachel Hunt will have to navigate a state that is much different from when her father dominated.
McHenryย Opens A New Path to Washington
U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry’s retirement boosts the chances of Tim Moore, the long-time state House speaker.
The Troubled Last Days of Speaker Tim Moore
As he moves toward finishing an unprecedented 10-year reign, the House speaker leaves a complicated legacy.
Whatโs Behind Tricia Cothamโs Democratic Divorce
She says Democrats drove her away. Her former allies are puzzledโand say Cotham doesnโt seem to be the same person they knew before.
A Prescription for Rural Hospitals
Legislators are lurching toward expanding Medicaid, which would boost the stateโs ailing rural hospitals.
Thom Tillis and the Art of the Deal
With his next reelection campaign four long years away, North Carolinaโs soon-to-be senior senator has emerged as a bipartisan dealmaker. Back home, his partyโs conservative wing doesnโt like it.
Cheri Beasleyโs Record Is On Trial
The U.S. Senate candidate and former chief justice of the state Supreme Court touts her independence as a jurist. Republicans are taking aim.
Pat McCrory’s New Game
The former Charlotte mayor and governor considers himself a Reagan Republican and believes in โconstructive conservatism.โ Now, as he runs for the U.S. Senate against a Trump-endorsed candidate, the ground has shiftedโand heโs trying to find his footing.



