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Protecting abortion rights was the top issue for North Carolina's swing voters who participated in our latest Engagious/Schlesinger focus group.

Getting inflation under control was a close second.

Yes, but: Whether their feelings on those issues will drive them to the polls in the November midterms was less clear, especially considering many participants couldn’t name North Carolina's U.S. Senate candidates, Cheri Beasley and Rep. Ted Budd. 

Why it matters: Democrats hope that falling gas prices and voters energized by abortion restrictions will help them win congressional races in North Carolina and several other states in a year that's expected to be more favorable to Republicans. 

“Several North Carolina swing voters indicated that when the Court overturned Roe, it inserted a major new consideration into their political decision-making,” said Rich Thau, president of Engagious, who moderated the focus groups. “What remains to be seen is whether all their talk will be backed up by action at the ballot box.”

Driving the news: About halfway between the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the November midterms, Axios partner Engagious/Schlesinger conducted two online focus groups on Monday with 11 North Carolinians who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 then Joe Biden in 2020.

They ranged in location from Carteret County on the coast to Davie County near the foothills.

Eight participants are registered unaffiliated — two are Democrats, one is a Republican.

Of note: While a focus group is not a statistically significant sample like a poll, the responses show how some voters are thinking and talking about current events. Schlesinger recruits from a national panel of people willing to participate in qualitative research.

The participants also gave a snapshot of unaffiliated North Carolina voters, who now outnumber both Democrats and Republicans in the state.        

The big picture: Most were passionate about abortion and gas prices, while offering mixed views on gun control and student loan forgiveness, and ambivalence over the state of healthcare in N.C.

"I was registered as a Republican and I'm switching to Democrat. It's something that has upset me greatly," Alana P. of Carteret County said of the Supreme Court’s June decision in the abortion case.

Voter Russell T. of Forsyth County listed protecting a woman's right to abortion as his top issue, then protecting the Second Amendment and fighting for racial equity. He said he believes the Republican Party has historically been about keeping "less government in your life," but that changed after the Dobbs ruling.

Reality check: Few participants were engaged in North Carolina's U.S. Senate race. In fact:

8 of 11 saw a picture of Democratic candidate Cheri Beasley and said they could name her, while only 4 of 11 said they could name Republican Rep. Ted Budd after seeing a picture of him.

8 of the 11 said they were very likely to vote in the midterms. 

Also, 0 of 11 could name the person Beasley and Budd are vying to replace, Sen. Richard Burr, who's served as one of this state's two U.S. Senators for nearly 18 years. 

Between the lines: Unlike in recent focus groups in Florida and Wisconsin, none of the North Carolina swing voters said they regretted voting for Biden. Most said Biden lost their support early in the presidency but has gained some of it back in the past few months.

"We're starting to see what he promised us, a little bit at least," participant Kayla L. from Davie County said. 

When asked if their opinions on Biden would sway their vote in the Senate race, nobody said yes. But when asked if their opinions on former President Trump would sway their vote in the Senate race, however, several said yes.

Kayla L. said she saw that Trump was backing Budd: "I wouldn't vote for him just because of that."

Alana P. from Carteret County said she's still mad about Trump's pass-through visit to eastern N.C. after Hurricane Florence in 2018. "He didn't care and didn't want to help us at all. … But I also don’t like Budd for his slander. I think it should be an honest campaign."

http://www.engagious.com/

https://engagious.com/swingvoters/

Abortion is top of mind for some of N.C.'s Trump-Biden voters

Swing voters also spoke up about gas prices, gun control and studen loan forgiveness.

Illustration of a trampoline in the shape of North Carolina. 

2022 elections

Protecting abortion rights was the top issue for North Carolina&#x27;s swing voters who participated in our latest <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Engagious/Schlesinger" data-vars-click-url="https://engagious.com/swingvoters/" data-vars-content-id="09ead10f-6110-49b0-ac88-b2b35c2211e0" data-vars-headline="Abortion is top of mind for some of N.C.&#x27;s Trump-Biden voters" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://engagious.com/swingvoters/" target="_blank">Engagious/Schlesinger</a> focus group.<ul><li>Getting inflation under control was a close second.</li></ul>

News

On this day in 1962, North Carolina native Little Eva went to No. 1 on the Billboard chart with her smash hit "The Loco-Motion."

Why it matters: You're tapping your feet and humming the song already, for one. Yeah, we see you. 

The song's story: Eva Narcissus Boyd grew up in Belhaven, a town about two hours east of Raleigh. She left the state for New York as a teenager to try to make it in the music business.

She was 17 years old and working as a babysitter for songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King, who wrote "Loco-Motion" and asked her to sing the demo.

Another artist turned down the chance to record it, so a producer simply released the demo, almost on a whim.

Be smart: Little Eva died in Kinston in 2003 and was laid to rest in a cemetery in Belhaven. In 2008, a monument maker donated a tombstone that has a locomotive on it. 

Happy 60th anniversary to "The Loco-Motion"

The timeless hit was performed by a North Carolinian.

Little Eva (Eva Narcissus Boyd) poses on a miniature train for her album cover session in 1962. 

Little Eva (Eva Narcissus Boyd) poses on a miniature train for her album cover session in 1962. Photo: Popsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

History

On this day in 1962, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="North Carolina native Little Eva" data-vars-click-url="https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2016/08/25/little-eva-and-locomotion" data-vars-content-id="4c94071b-c7fc-4cba-aa7b-05d18ceda2fd" data-vars-headline="Happy 60th anniversary to &quot;The Loco-Motion&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2016/08/25/little-eva-and-locomotion" target="_blank">North Carolina native Little Eva</a> went to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="No. 1 on the Billboard chart" data-vars-click-url="https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1962-08-25/?cid=realities" data-vars-content-id="4c94071b-c7fc-4cba-aa7b-05d18ceda2fd" data-vars-headline="Happy 60th anniversary to &quot;The Loco-Motion&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1962-08-25/?cid=realities" target="_blank">No. 1 on the Billboard chart</a> with her smash hit &quot;The Loco-Motion.&quot;Why it matters: You&#x27;re tapping your feet and humming the song already, for one. Yeah, we see you. The song&#x27;s story: Eva Narcissus Boyd grew up in Belhaven, a town about two hours east of Raleigh. She left the state for New York as a teenager to try to make it in the music business.<ul><li>She was 17 years old and working as a babysitter for songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King, who wrote &quot;Loco-Motion&quot; and asked her to sing the demo.</li><li>Another artist turned down the chance to record it, so a producer simply released the demo, almost on a whim.</li><li>It spread like wildfire.</li></ul>Be smart: Little Eva died in Kinston in 2003 and was laid to rest in a cemetery in Belhaven. In 2008, a monument maker <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="donated a tombstone" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3926740/" data-vars-content-id="4c94071b-c7fc-4cba-aa7b-05d18ceda2fd" data-vars-headline="Happy 60th anniversary to &quot;The Loco-Motion&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3926740/" target="_blank">donated a tombstone</a> that has a locomotive on it.

About three-quarters of North Carolina's children have already been infected with COVID-19, new CDC data shows.

Driving the news: The CDC's pediatric antibody seroprevalence survey, released last week, examined samples from nearly 500 North Carolinians ranging in age from 6 months old to 17 years.

The results indicate that an estimated 79.5% of those children had at least one resolving or past infection with SARS-CoV-2. 

Why it matters: At the start of the 2022-23 school year, the story of our children's relationship with COVID-19 is dramatically different from what it was last year or the year before. 

Those two Augusts brought furious arguments over prevention — if and when to reopen in 2020, whether to end mask policies in 2021. 

This year, with vaccines widely available for people 6 months and up, the Wake County Public Schools COVID-19 page is a landing spot for recommendations, not mandates, and tips on how to minimize risk for the most vulnerable.

By the numbers: About 69% of Wake County children between ages 12-17 have received at least one vaccine dose, according to NCDHHS. 49% of kids ages 5-11 have a dose, and 12% of kids between 0-4 do.

Durham County's numbers are about the same, with the one exception: a noticeably higher percentage of kids ages 0-4 (17%) has received a dose.

The bottom line: Most North Carolina school systems on a traditional calendar welcome students back this coming Monday, and for the first time since the start of the pandemic, most of the kids sitting at desks will have had COVID-19.

Most North Carolina kids have had COVID-19

COVID-19

About three-quarters of North Carolina&#x27;s children have already been infected with COVID-19, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new CDC data shows" data-vars-click-url="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#pediatric-seroprevalence" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#pediatric-seroprevalence" target="_blank">new CDC data shows</a>.Driving the news: The CDC&#x27;s pediatric antibody seroprevalence survey, released last week, examined samples from nearly 500 North Carolinians ranging in age from 6 months old to 17 years.

👋 Hey, y'all. Southern bureau chief Michael Graff here, to talk about fish.

It's dangerous to meet the things you dream about, so I was a little nervous walking into Saltbox Seafood Joint.

Context: My father was a Chesapeake Bay waterman, and I grew up working on his boat. When your childhood is filled with fresh fish, and you wind up living four hours from the coast in a city like Charlotte, you grow weary with restaurants' attempts to church up seafood.

So on our team's visit with Lucille and Zach last week, we hopped off the Amtrak in Durham and hustled over to the spot that made Ricky Moore a James Beard Award winner.

Dear Triangle readers, I must say, you are among the luckiest people in this "goodliest" state.

Why it matters: Award-winning restaurants can feel trite. How many old-fashioneds and appetizers with endless names can you share?

But Saltbox delivers a rare combination of all-star food in a simple setting. It reminded me of the countless meals I'd eaten fresh off the boat.

We ordered everything we could — rolls and plates, flounder and shrimp, and of course some of Moore's famous hush honeys, or honey hush puppies.

Frying fish can truly damn the taste of it but Moore's version is lightly breaded and generously seasoned in a way that lets the fish remain the main character.

My favorite was the bluefish roll, which the server told us was too "fishy" for him, but came out just right for me, a grown-up boy who suffered many a bite from the sharp teeth of a blue.

The bottom line: The joy of Saltbox is that we could sit as friends for an hour at a picnic table, and know that we were eating at the classiest joint in the state.

Saltbox doesn't disappoint

Saltbox delivers a rare combination of all-star food in a simple setting.

Restaurants

👋 Hey, y&#x27;all. Southern bureau chief Michael Graff here, to talk about fish.It&#x27;s dangerous to meet the things you dream about, so I was a little nervous walking into <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Saltbox Seafood Joint" data-vars-click-url="https://www.saltboxseafoodjoint.com" data-vars-content-id="8bc15bdf-ff44-482a-ae11-3b948306c4da" data-vars-headline="Saltbox doesn&#x27;t disappoint" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.saltboxseafoodjoint.com" target="_blank">Saltbox Seafood Joint</a>.

Food and Drink

The great North Carolina writer Philip Gerard died last week at 67. If you love this state and endeavor to know more about it, you’ve probably seen his work: 

He was an author, musician and UNC Wilmington professor.

He wrote “Cape Fear Rising” a historical novel about the 1898 coup in Wilmington.

His latest book, “North Carolina in the 1940s,” was published by Blair in August. 

And his exhaustive Our State series about the Civil War in North Carolina is without question the definitive account of the matter in this state.

I worked as Philip’s editor at Our State from 2009 to 2012. He taught me two things I’ll never forget:

One was a writing tip, from the Civil War series. He wrote the entire thing in the present tense in an effort to put readers in the place and time. When he’d write about a person who died in war, he’d try to piece together a scene from the night before, or week before.

They may be dead to us now, Philip thought, but through his research and words they become three-dimensional characters doing ordinary things — they brush their teeth; they read a book — unaware that they are hours from death.

The second was a life lesson. Around 2010 we sent him to interview someone who was downright rude to him. We editors were aghast: Who could be mean to Philip Gerard?

But Philip didn’t mind because, as he put it, “You never know where you enter someone’s story.” 

Remembering North Carolina writer Philip Gerard

The great North Carolina writer died last week at 67.

Portrait of Phillip Gerard posing in front of a desk and bookshelf

Philip Gerard. Photo courtesy of UNC Wilmington

obituaries

The great North Carolina writer Philip Gerard <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="died last week " data-vars-click-url="https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/11/09/wilmington-writer-and-uncw-professor-philip-gerard-dies-at-67/69631066007/" data-vars-content-id="ddf20fed-0cd7-4ba1-83ec-ad46ee705e53" data-vars-headline="Remembering North Carolina writer Philip Gerard" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/11/09/wilmington-writer-and-uncw-professor-philip-gerard-dies-at-67/69631066007/" target="_blank">died last week </a>at 67. If you love this state and endeavor to know more about it, you’ve probably seen his work: <ul><li>He was an author, musician and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="UNC Wilmington professor" data-vars-click-url="https://uncw.edu/news/2022/11/uncw-mourns-the-passing-of-faculty-member-philip-gerard.html" data-vars-content-id="ddf20fed-0cd7-4ba1-83ec-ad46ee705e53" data-vars-headline="Remembering North Carolina writer Philip Gerard" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://uncw.edu/news/2022/11/uncw-mourns-the-passing-of-faculty-member-philip-gerard.html" target="_blank">UNC Wilmington professor</a>.</li><li>He wrote “<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Cape Fear Rising" data-vars-click-url="https://www.amazon.com/Cape-Fear-Rising-Philip-Gerard/dp/0895871653" data-vars-content-id="ddf20fed-0cd7-4ba1-83ec-ad46ee705e53" data-vars-headline="Remembering North Carolina writer Philip Gerard" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.amazon.com/Cape-Fear-Rising-Philip-Gerard/dp/0895871653" target="_blank">Cape Fear Rising</a>” a historical novel about the 1898 coup in Wilmington.</li></ul>

Michael Graff

Featured stories

Remembering North Carolina writer Philip Gerard

Abortion is top of mind for some of N.C.'s Trump-Biden voters

Happy 60th anniversary to "The Loco-Motion"

Most North Carolina kids have had COVID-19

Saltbox doesn't disappoint