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Judging from headlines and political debates alone, it might seem that Americans care only about a handful of issues at a time. Immigration. Abortion. Guns.

But as visual journalists from The News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer and the McClatchy Company gassed up their vehicles and traveled into cities, towns and rural communities across the state, they found that North Carolinians have concerns as varied as the vast landscape they inhabit.

Logging more than 20,000 miles over six months, this team of roving journalists traveled interstates and Main Streets, parkways and unpaved roads to talk with people of different ages, races, ethnicities and sexual/gender identities. They connected with recent transplants and those who have lived here their whole lives; conservatives and liberals; business owners, minimum-wage workers, people out of work and ones who have retired.

Our journalists worked together to identify hundreds of interview subjects from every county in the state, calling the owners of bookstores, clothing boutiques and gift shops that cater to tourists. They reached out to bankers, insurance agents, homebuilders and real estate salespeople. They found cotton and dairy farmers, hairstylists, musicians, a chimney sweep, a taxidermist and a fishing guide. They talked with educators, state employees, lawyers, landscapers and clergy members. They approached mechanics, massage therapists, veterans, college students, an innkeeper and a radio host.

The result is "Journey Across the 100,” a Murphy-to-Manteo-style interactive video listening tour that focuses on regular people and what’s on their minds as the 2020 election approaches. Collectively, these 101 videos create a detailed political portrait of a complex state in a time of transition.

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