In-person early voting begins today across North Carolina ahead of the March 3 primary.

Here's a look at several buzzy races we're watching right now:

🏛️ N.C. Senate, District 26: This Republican primary in conservative territory outside Greensboro could reverberate through Raleigh's halls of power.

• Senate leader Phil Berger faces Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. Both Republicans have held office for more than two decades.
• The intrigue: Berger locked down President Trump's endorsement after pushing new congressional maps through the legislature last fall. If — and that's a big "if" — he lost anyway, this year's legislative session would take on a different character as Republicans jockeyed to replace their leader since 2004.

📍 N.C. House, District 106: Carla Cunningham, a Democrat, has represented Charlotte for seven terms, but party leaders are hoping to oust her for sometimes siding with Republicans.

• Last summer, Cunningham voted to support cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and gave a speech saying "all cultures are not equal." She partially walked back that sentiment after ICE and Border Patrol surged into Charlotte.
• The intrigue: The state party is limiting help to Cunningham and other Democrats who help override vetoes, per The Assembly. The governor endorsed Rodney Sadler for the seat.

⚖️ Wake County D.A.: Three Democrats are vying to become district attorney.

• As Indy Week reports, Melanie Shekita is a veteran prosecutor; Wiley Nickel has experience navigating politics; and Sherita Walton is the candidate whom incumbent Lorrin Freeman has endorsed.

Keep reading

These primaries also set the stage for November's fight for control of Congress.

🔵 4th district: A rematch in this Triangle congressional district could signal where Democrats are heading in 2026.

• On one side is Valerie Foushee, an incumbent with Gov. Josh Stein's endorsement. Challenging her is Nida Allam, North Carolina's first Muslim elected official, who thinks the map favors her this time around. Allam lost the 2022 primary by 9 percentage points.
• The intrigue: Progressives nationwide are seeking to unseat moderate and establishment incumbents — characterizations Foushee rejects. Allam has embraced comparisons to New York City's Zohran Mamdani and has the backing of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

🔴 1st district: This seat was a toss-up previously, but Republicans redrew the map last year and now have a good chance at unseating Democrat Don Davis.

• Voters will pick between prior candidate Laurie Buckhout, state Sen. Bobby Hanig, local sheriff Asa Buck, county commissioner Eric Rouse, and Ashley-Nicole Russell.
• The intrigue: The favorite is Laurie Buckhout, who barely lost to Davis in 2024, but she was hesitant to enter this race because of health issues, the Albemarle Observer reported.

🔵 3rd district: Democrats are hoping that they can unseat Republican Rep. Greg Murphy in November, a long shot made slightly easier during redistricting.

• The southeastern North Carolina primary is between Raymond Smith Jr. and Allison Jaslow.
• The intrigue: The national party views the seat as competitive and will spend on the Democrat who emerges from the primary. Some are hesitant to support Smith, however, because when he was a state senator, his votes sent "mixed signals" on abortion, according to the pro-choice site Choice Tracker.

What's next: Find your nearest polling location and cast a ballot before polls close on Tuesday, March 3.

• Same-day voter registration is possible through Saturday, Feb. 28.

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🚮 Wake County's landfill is in its final 20 years of use, meaning local leaders must begin the search for other places to haul trash. (News & Observer)

🥐 Giorgios Epicurean Market in Raleigh is closed while it is transformed into a new vision for the space. (Triangle Business Journal 🔒)

⚡️ Duke Energy reported nearly $5 billion in net income last year. (WRAL)

Extraordinary Thrift Store will open Feb. 27 in the Carrboro spot previously occupied by CommunityWorx. The new shop is run by a Chapel Hill nonprofit that provides jobs and training to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (Chapelboro.com)

The United States is facing its largest outbreak of measles in decades, and North Carolina health authorities are now warning of potential exposures in Raleigh and Durham.

Wake County health authorities alerted that a contagious person visited five locations around northwest Raleigh last week:

• Brier Creek: O2 Fitness and Everbowl in the afternoon Feb. 5
• Strickland Road: Harris Teeter at Leesville Towne Centre in the early evening Feb. 5. Walgreens across the street in the afternoon Feb. 6.
• Creedmoor Road: Harris Teeter in Towne North in the early evening on Feb. 5.

South Durham has several potential exposures as well:

• Garret Road: Goodwill around midday Feb. 6.
• Woodcroft: Chubby's Tacos around midday Feb. 6.
• Southpoint: Plato's Closet in the afternoon Feb. 6.

The latest: North Carolina is up to 18 cases in this outbreak, many spilling over from South Carolina, according to the state.

How it works: Measles is highly contagious, and generally hits unvaccinated children the hardest. Symptoms can take three weeks to appear.

• About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who contract it are hospitalized. About 1 in every 20 children develop pneumonia as a result — "the most common cause of death from measles in young children," the CDC says.

Take a closer look

Across the globe, various cultures have words for love and attachment that don't always have a direct English equivalent.

The big picture: English heavily relies on the "L" word for all matters of deep connection — which could say something about our culture's comfort with big feelings.

• "It's not necessarily a bad thing," says Ben Kramer, a linguist and designer at Duolingo. "There's also something beautiful" about viewing feelings for a relative on the same level as those for a romantic partner, he says.

🇯🇵 In Japanese, the phrase "koi no yokan" means the premonition of love — the idea that you will be in love with the person in the future.

☪️ In Arabic, "ya'aburnee" means "you bury me." In other words, you love someone so much that you need them to outlive you because you can't keep living if they die.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 In Welsh, "hiraeth" is a longing for a place, time or person that can't be reached.

🇰🇷 In Korean, "jeong" describes a fondness that builds over time.

🇫🇷 In French, "mon chou" literally means "little cabbage," but is a term of endearment like the English "honey."

The bottom line: Love is universal, but sometimes it sounds better in another language.