That time of year is coming up where road signs pop up on highways like a political disease, YouTube ads wildly vacillate between two parties and obscure politicians announce their bids for the 2024 state and national elections. As we enter this semi-permanent state of political dread for the next two years, I have one thing to ask of our home state: stay just the way you are.
In a time of undeniable polarization, our legislature’s ability to reach across party lines has been instrumental to keeping our state’s integrity intact. With 2024 elections around the corner, it is more important than ever that lawmakers put aside their political vendettas and maintain North Carolina’s hard-fought success.
North Carolina has always been a relatively bipartisan state. Even when Democrats were firmly in power during the early 2000’s, they were on the conservative side — unafraid to split tickets or cross party lines for certain bills. Currently, North Carolina voters are almost evenly split between Democratic, Republican and Independent affiliations. While other states have moved farther along the ideological spectrum, our state has used our unique makeup to create a political safe haven — something that has undeniably paid off.
The Republican-majority House and Senate have worked together with Roy Cooper to expand medicaid access, pioneer clean energy initiatives and implement more gun control. They even reached across the aisle to try to legalize happy hour.
Our government’s greatest success, however, was economic. In 2022, CNBC named North Carolina as having the strongest economy in the United States. Since January 2022, North Carolina has announced nearly $7 billion in capital investments; but the biggest — a $2 billion deal with Vietnamese car manufacturer VinFast — propelled us to the prime spot. CNBC attributed the majority of it to lawmakers’ ability to put partisanship aside.
It may seem easy, but our proverbial safe haven sits in the eye of a political hurricane. Former president Donald Trump called for termination of constitutional articles and president Joe Biden called half of the country dangerous for backing the former. This may not seem like an issue that affects college students, but we have the most to contribute — and the most to gain — in preserving bipartisanship.
NC State had the highest collegiate voter turnout rate compared to other universities during the 2020 election. As voter turnout is traditionally lowest among 18 to 24-year-olds, students play a major role in representing our generation on the North Carolina political stage. Additionally, our proximity to the capitol means we can also get involved with the state legislature. We can protest extreme bills, pursue jobs at the capitol or volunteer with nonpartisan groups. If those sound too daunting, the simplest, and best, thing you can do is vote. If we show up to the polls, we can encourage a dual-party outcome.
We also have unique access to bipartisanship’s benefits. The University has an incredible array of post-graduate internships, jobs and connections available for students to gain an early footing in one of the fastest growing cities in America. It’s clear that cross-party cooperation yields massive economic and social benefits. If we vote to maintain our cooperative political climate, we may reap a lot of benefits for our post-graduate lives.
Make no mistake, this success was not easy for legislators to achieve. As we move into what will likely be a highly charged election, I urge students not to forget who is responsible for our achievements. This was not the work of any one group — as parties have been known to claim — but a very strict effort from both sides to do what is best for our state. Don’t let big-party propaganda overshadow our state’s bipartisan success. Let’s do what’s best for North Carolina and stay exactly the way we are.
