2020 offers no quiet for our divided times — nationally or in North Carolina
Our journalists are writing about what they expect to be some of the big topics they’ll report on in 2020.
A presidential impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate in January and an election that will decide who holds power in Washington and beyond in November.
Even in these wild, unpredictable times, 2020 should stand out as uniquely consequential.
And North Carolina and its voters will play a large role.
Charlotte in August hosts the Republican National Convention, at which Donald Trump is likely to become the first impeached president ever renominated. The state’s primary on Super Tuesday, March 3, could go a long way toward determining Trump’s Democratic general election opponent. North Carolina will be a frequent stop for both candidates, as its 15 electoral votes are essential for Trump’s re-election bid.
In addition to a president, North Carolina voters will elect a governor, a U.S. senator and 13 U.S. House members in newly redrawn districts, making those who sell television and digital advertising very, very happy. The re-election bids of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis are of wide, national interest with Tillis’ race possibly determining control of the Senate.
Control of the state legislature is in the balance too, with all 170 seats up for re-election.
President Trump
The news moves so fast, aided no doubt by the 280-character world of Twitter that Trump utilizes constantly, that it’s hard to predict which issues or controversies or policy changes will capture the public’s attention long enough to matter. Who could have predicted, after all, that a phone call with the president of Ukraine would spark this historic impeachment?
By dint of his domineering personality, unpredictable nature and ever-present presence on our screens — yes, all of them — 2020 certainly appears as another year of Trump, the love-or-hate him former reality TV star a perfect encapsulation of our polarized, partisan times.
But there are issues, too. And they divide us.
Health care
The Affordable Care Act, passed a decade ago, faces another Supreme Court challenge, potentially upending the nation’s health care system in the middle of election season. The other issues at the heart of the fissures in American life remain: immigration, guns, terrorism, abortion, climate, inequality and civil rights, among others.
What else could reshape 2020? A real war, perhaps. Or a trade war. Or just the nation’s ongoing red-blue cold one.
The economy
And will any of the electioneering — the ads, the campaigns, the conventions, the talking heads, the emails and memes, attempts at foreign interference, the character of the candidates — matter more than the economy’s performance?
Of course, that too can be a matter of debate or perspective.
In North Carolina, the rural-urban divide seems sure to grow, our physical address impacting nearly every aspect of life and shaping our preferences, political and otherwise.
Polarization
Maybe 2020 will surprise us and stir us with moments, however fleeting, when the labels — Rs and Ds, city and country, Tar Heel and Blue Devil and Wolfpack — aren’t armor to shield or a sword to slay.
But it is our divisions, likely to be picked at every day through Nov. 3 and beyond, that define this era of the American experiment. A new year won’t change that — not with the third impeachment trial in our nation’s history imminent and November’s election looming.
Buckle up.
Brian Murphy covers North Carolina issues and its delegation in Washington, D.C. For smart, reliable and timely coverage of the issues you care about, subscribe to The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/subscribe or subscribe to The Herald-Sun at heraldsun.com/subscribe.
This story was originally published December 25, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "2020 offers no quiet for our divided times — nationally or in North Carolina."
