Remembering Jim Hunt + Lumbee recognition signed + Trump in NC

Good morning!

This is Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi bringing you Friday’s Under the Dome newsletter.

Below you’ll find our full coverage of Gov. Jim Hunt’s death at age 88, including a comprehensive look at his life and legacy by former N&O reporter and columnist Rob Christensen.

You’ll also find our coverage of President Donald Trump signing Lumbee recognition into law. Danielle Battaglia has the inside story of how it happened.

Which incumbents face challenges?

It’s the final day of candidate filing, so I took a fresh look at where things stand on the political chessboard — and what has changed since filing opened and my colleagues and I first surveyed the field.

First, for a quick reminder of what candidate filing is, how the primary works, and which races will be on the ballot in North Carolina in 2026, read my primer here.

Some of the biggest races this cycle are for a U.S. Senate seat, all U.S. House seats, and one seat on the N.C. Supreme Court.

On Thursday, Michele Morrow, a Republican who ran a controversial and unsuccessful campaign for state superintendent last year, announced she is entering the GOP primary for U.S. Senate. My colleague Kyle Ingram has the details.

Beyond those contests, voters will also see races for the N.C. Court of Appeals, along with several local elections, including contests for county, school district and municipal offices.

All 120 seats in the state House and all 50 seats in the state Senate are also on the ballot. I’ve been closely tuned in to those races and reported on them during the first week of candidate filing.

At that point, there were seven contested primaries in the state Senate — all on the Republican side. In the state House, there were 23 contested primaries, including 15 among Republicans and eight among Democrats, according to North Carolina State Board of Elections data I analyzed.

I checked again on Thursday, and those numbers have ticked up.

There are now 12 contested primaries in the state Senate — three among Democrats and nine among Republicans.

In the state House, there are now 37 contested primaries, including 25 among Republicans and 12 among Democrats.

Several of those primary challengers are running against powerful Republican incumbents. Several Democrats who had broken with party leadership are also facing primary challenges. I’ve updated my story to reflect these changes, including a full list of contested races and key matchups to watch.

Incumbents leaving the General Assembly

Another notable takeaway from this year’s candidate filing: several incumbents — from both parties — are not running for reelection, at least as of Thursday afternoon.

Most of those are in the House.

• District 7: Rep. Matthew Winslow, a Democrat representing Franklin and Vance counties
• District 20: Rep. Ted Davis Jr., Republican, New Hanover
• District 22: Rep. William Brisson, Republican, Bladen and Sampson
• District 32: Rep. Bryan Cohn, Democrat, Granville and Vance
• District 51: Rep. John Sauls, Republican, Lee and Moore
• District 55: Rep. Mark Brody, Republican, Anson and Union
• District 63: Rep. Stephen Ross, Republican, Alamance
• District 76: Rep. Harry Warren, Republican, Rowan
• District 90: Rep. Sarah Stevens, Republican, Surry and Wilkes

In the Senate, the only incumbent not running for reelection is Sen. Bobby Hanig, who is instead running in a crowded Republican primary for the U.S. House in the 1st Congressional District.

Whoever wins that race would face Libertarian Tom Bailey and Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis, whose district was redrawn by Republicans this year to no longer include his home. Davis opted to run in the redrawn 1st Congressional District rather than the 3rd Congressional District, where he would live under the new lines. (He said he would move to the redrawn 1st district, though members of Congress are not required to live in the districts they represent.) The 1st district is one of the seats both parties are targeting as they compete for control of the House in the midterm elections next November.

Stevens, meanwhile, is running for a seat on the N.C. Supreme Court against incumbent Democratic Justice Anita Earls.

Warren is leaving to run for Rowan County clerk of Superior Court.

With candidate filing closing at noon, the focus now turns fully to campaigning.

President Donald Trump has already made North Carolina a priority and is scheduled to give a speech in Rocky Mount — located in the redrawn 1st district — this evening. Washington correspondent Danielle Battaglia and I will be covering the visit.

What else we’ve been working on

• Former NC Gov. Jim Hunt, a longtime, dominant figure in state politics, has died
• The NC campaign for the ages that altered Gov. Jim Hunt’s presidential prospects
• Stein, Cooper praise late Gov. Jim Hunt as ‘visionary,’ ‘greatest’ in NC history
• Two NC governors, two parties and ‘mutual respect’: Jim Martin on the late Jim Hunt
• Trump signs Lumbee recognition into law, capping tribe’s decades-long effort
• How Thom Tillis and allies maneuvered past 137 years of obstacles to aid Lumbee
• After city council loss, former Durham councilwoman aims for state Senate seat
• Far-right activist Michele Morrow enters NC’s GOP primary for Senate vs. Whatley
• ‘Iryna’s Law’ to increase demand on strained NC mental health system, officials say
• NC’s Sen. Ted Budd voices blunt concerns about Mark Walker nomination

Thanks for reading Under the Dome

That’s all for today, but we hope to see you right back here on Sunday.

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This story was originally published December 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Remembering Jim Hunt + Lumbee recognition signed + Trump in NC."

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi

The News & Observer

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi is a politics reporter for the News & Observer. She reports on health care, including mental health and Medicaid expansion, hurricane recovery efforts and lobbying. Luciana previously worked as a Roy W. Howard Fellow at Searchlight New Mexico, an investigative news organization.