A Rough Night for Republicans: What Cumberland County's Results Really Mean

Peter Pappas flies solo for a post-election breakdown. Tuesday was a rough night for Republicans in Cumberland County, from a 34-point sheriff's race to both at-large commission seats, and it wasn't a low-turnout fluke: early voting was up a third over the last midterm. Peter asks why the voters who showed up voted the way they did, and what Republicans need to change, starting with candidates who do the work. He walks through the NC-7 race, where Rep. David Rouzer leads Dr. Kimberly Hardy by 2,425 votes: how provisional ballots, the canvass and a possible recount work, and why a close election isn't a broken one. Plus the three constitutional amendments that all passed, the city and county running the same data center fight on two different clocks, the Senate race the establishment handed to Michael Whatley, the Hope Mills town manager search, and Veterans Day around Fort Bragg. 00:00 2,425 votes: where NC-7 stands 01:12 A rough night for Republicans in Cumberland County 04:03 Republicans need quality candidates 05:01 NC-7: provisionals, the canvass and recount rules 08:07 Data centers: two governments, two clocks 10:46 Raleigh: Cooper, the state House and the amendments 13:36 Owning the loss 14:30 The establishment, Whatley and Don Brown 16:09 Hope Mills: the town manager search 16:48 Veterans Day and this week's election calendar 17:53 From the chat: local priorities and the Crown event center 20:13 A close election is not a broken election