NC SPIN Posts by John Hood

Time to check poll position

In 2016 North Carolina features the country’s most competitive election for governor, one of the country’s most competitive elections for U.S. Senate, and (as of mid-July) the tightest state race...    Read More

by John Hood   |   July 22, 2016

Candidates go their own way

When North Carolina Democrats Jim Hunt and Rufus Edmisten were running their races for U.S. Senate and governor in 1984, they kept as far away as they could from the Democratic nominee for president...    Read More

by John Hood   |   July 13, 2016

Campaigns go back to future

During North Carolina’s primary elections earlier this year, did you get a visit to your home from a campaign worker? If so, you are far from alone. One of the most noticeable changes in political...    Read More

by John Hood   |   July 8, 2016


North Carolina gives conservatives hope

I admit to being biased in favor of my home state. But I believe the following proposition is demonstrably true. To the extent that American conservatives are increasingly pessimistic about the future...    Read More

by John Hood   |   July 1, 2016

We were never in Kansas

As the general election campaign begins in North Carolina, you can expect to hear a lot about Kansas. Yes, I can read a map. Kansas and North Carolina aren’t exactly neighbors. But when it comes to...    Read More

by John Hood   |   June 23, 2016

School reform is good economics

Although the debate about education policy is robust, complicated, and sometimes vitriolic, there is actually broad agreement about the bottom line: if our students were better prepared for college...    Read More

by John Hood   |   June 20, 2016


Tax dispute has a solution

The federal government has just released another set of economic statistics — and they again show North Carolina has one of the fastest-growing economies in the United States. According to the...    Read More

by John Hood   |   June 15, 2016

Cash doesn't dictate votes

Do state politicians have principles? To some cynical academics and activists, the only way this question can have an affirmative answer is to define the term the way comedian Groucho Marx famously...    Read More

by John Hood   |   June 13, 2016

State tax burden has declined

So far this year, we’ve had three state budget plans submitted by the three main actors in the drama: Gov. Pat McCrory, the North Carolina House, and the North Carolina Senate. While important...    Read More

by John Hood   |   June 9, 2016


State pollsters earn good grades

North Carolina has one of the most-polled electorates in the United States. As we head into a general election full of highly competitive races for governor, senator, president, and other offices...    Read More

by John Hood   |   June 6, 2016