What We’re Thinking: Close Races in North Carolina, Yet Again

What We’re Thinking: Close Races in North Carolina, Yet Again

This week, Tom and Aaron discuss a new PPP survey of North Carolinians that shows a tight race to replace Thom Tillis in the U.S. Senate. Democrat Roy Cooper leads Republican Michael Whatley 48-44, but that lead is largely a function of Cooper’s higher name recognition; most remaining undecideds are GOP-leaning voters, so Whatley still has a path to victory. The same is also true in the race for State Supreme Court, where Democratic incumbent Anita Earls narrowly leads Republican challenger Sarah Stevens 44-42. (Democrats do have a 46-44 edge in the generic legislative ballot, which gives them an opportunity to make big gains in the North Carolina General Assembly.) [https://chapelboromedia.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/07112125/What-Were-Thinking-Spotify-Cover-1600-x-1600-px-1-1024x1024.png]https://chapelboromedia.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/07112125/What-Were-Thinking-Spotify-Cover-1600-x-1600-px-1.png 97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations [https://chapelboro.com/on-air-today] – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live. Every other Monday, Aaron is joined at 8:30 a.m. by Tom Jensen, the director of Public Policy Polling [https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/], for a longstanding regular segment called “What We’re Thinking,” looking at recent survey numbers and discussing what they tell us about American public opinion – election-related and otherwise. You can also listen to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” on Spotify. Click here to follow Aaron and listen to all his segments [https://open.spotify.com/show/11jUjaXgON7EZspQ2VsTI1], from local news to fun features to hard-hitting interviews. The post What We’re Thinking: Close Races in North Carolina, Yet Again [https://chapelboro.com/the-aaron-keck-show/what-were-thinking/close-races-in-north-carolina-yet-again] appeared first on Chapelboro.com [https://chapelboro.com].

What We’re Thinking: Democrats Reclaiming the NC House?

This week, Tom and Aaron discuss new numbers that suggest a 13-point swing toward Democrats in 2026 versus 2024. That’s especially relevant in North Carolina: Republicans have gerrymandered legislative districts to give them a big advantage, but many of those districts favor the GOP by – you guessed it, roughly 13 points. Tom says if nothing changes between now and November (obviously a big ‘if’), Democrats could pick off a couple of those GOP-leaning U.S. House districts – and maybe even reclaim control of the North Carolina State House. [https://chapelboromedia.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/07112125/What-Were-Thinking-Spotify-Cover-1600-x-1600-px-1-1024x1024.png]https://chapelboromedia.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/07112125/What-Were-Thinking-Spotify-Cover-1600-x-1600-px-1.png 97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations [https://chapelboro.com/on-air-today] – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live. Every other Monday, Aaron is joined at 8:30 a.m. by Tom Jensen, the director of Public Policy Polling [https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/], for a longstanding regular segment called “What We’re Thinking,” looking at recent survey numbers and discussing what they tell us about American public opinion – election-related and otherwise. You can also listen to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” on Spotify. Click here to follow Aaron and listen to all his segments [https://open.spotify.com/show/11jUjaXgON7EZspQ2VsTI1], from local news to fun features to hard-hitting interviews. The post What We’re Thinking: Democrats Reclaiming the NC House? [https://chapelboro.com/the-aaron-keck-show/what-were-thinking/what-were-thinking-democrats-reclaiming-the-nc-house] appeared first on Chapelboro.com [https://chapelboro.com].

What We’re Thinking: A Blue Wave, If You Can Keep It

This week, Tom shares new numbers showing Democrats with a four-point edge in this year’s midterm – but that could become a 10-point edge, if anti-Trump undecideds end up voting against the president. That could potentially produce a ‘blue wave’ election even bigger than 2018 – even putting control of the North Carolina State House in play – but only if Democrats are able to cash in on their advantage, by keeping the focus on economic issues (and actually working to convince undecided voters that they’ll do a better job than Trump has). 97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations [https://chapelboro.com/on-air-today] – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live. Every other Monday, Aaron is joined at 8:30 a.m. by Tom Jensen, the director of Public Policy Polling [https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/], for a longstanding regular segment called “What We’re Thinking,” looking at recent survey numbers and discussing what they tell us about American public opinion – election-related and otherwise. You can also listen to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” on Spotify. Click here to follow Aaron and listen to all his segments [https://open.spotify.com/show/11jUjaXgON7EZspQ2VsTI1], from local news to fun features to hard-hitting interviews. The post What We’re Thinking: A Blue Wave, If You Can Keep It [https://chapelboro.com/the-aaron-keck-show/what-were-thinking/a-blue-wave-if-you-can-keep-it] appeared first on Chapelboro.com [https://chapelboro.com].

What We’re Thinking: Democratic Gerrymandering in Virginia?

This week, Tom and Aaron discuss an upcoming vote in Virginia over a new Congressional district map that’s gerrymandered to benefit Democrats. Tom says it’s likely to pass because it’s a strong year for Democrats – but it’s probably going to be closer than you might otherwise think, because Democrats in general are opposed to gerrymandering. (Will all these gerrymanders have a big impact on the outcome of the 2026 election? Probably not, Tom says, when all is said and done – thanks to the fact that Democrats and Republicans have both been equally engaged in sketchy line-drawing this year. Most Americans on all sides of the spectrum remain opposed to gerrymandering, and now we really know why.) 97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations [https://chapelboro.com/on-air-today] – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live. Every other Monday, Aaron is joined at 8:30 a.m. by Tom Jensen, the director of Public Policy Polling [https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/], for a longstanding regular segment called “What We’re Thinking,” looking at recent survey numbers and discussing what they tell us about American public opinion – election-related and otherwise. You can also listen to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” on Spotify. Click here to follow Aaron and listen to all his segments [https://open.spotify.com/show/11jUjaXgON7EZspQ2VsTI1], from local news to fun features to hard-hitting interviews. The post What We’re Thinking: Democratic Gerrymandering in Virginia? [https://chapelboro.com/the-aaron-keck-show/what-were-thinking/democratic-gerrymandering-in-virginia] appeared first on Chapelboro.com [https://chapelboro.com].

What We’re Thinking: Iran, Gas Prices, Trump, and the Midterms

This week, Tom dissects new polls showing Donald Trump starting to lose support with some of his base voters, mostly due to rising gas prices. Support for the war in Iran is also very low, with Democrats united in opposition and Republicans mostly in favor but much more divided. Tom says Trump’s approval rating might tick back up if gas prices drop, but the picture appears very bright regardless for Democrats in the upcoming midterm; we’ll get a preview this week with a closely-watched race in Wisconsin. 97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations [https://chapelboro.com/on-air-today] – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live. Every other Monday, Aaron is joined at 8:30 a.m. by Tom Jensen, the director of Public Policy Polling [https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/], for a longstanding regular segment called “What We’re Thinking,” looking at recent survey numbers and discussing what they tell us about American public opinion – election-related and otherwise. You can also listen to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” on Spotify. Click here to follow Aaron and listen to all his segments [https://open.spotify.com/show/11jUjaXgON7EZspQ2VsTI1], from local news to fun features to hard-hitting interviews. The post What We’re Thinking: Iran, Gas Prices, Trump, and the Midterms [https://chapelboro.com/the-aaron-keck-show/what-were-thinking/iran-gas-prices-trump-and-the-midterms] appeared first on Chapelboro.com [https://chapelboro.com].