Money In Politics

October 24, 2014 - The U.S. Senate race in North Carolina has been getting a lot of attention for the onslaught of spending -- but voters in other Southern states may be feeling even more battered by the big money barrage.

October 23, 2014 - Over the past 15 years, North Carolina's high court has sided against the environment in every major environmental law case it's considered, a new study finds. And with the court's three Democrats facing tough re-election challenges, the odds could become even more stacked.

October 17, 2014 - In the first election since the end of North Carolina's judicial public financing program, Supreme Court and Court of Appeals candidates have raised nearly three times the amount of individual contributions as they had in recent elections -- and much of that money is coming from those with matters before the courts.

October 17, 2014 - The tidal wave of money flooding into our elections is carrying us further and further from the ideal of "one person, one vote." But outrage over the growing influence of Big Money is sparking innovative efforts for reform.

October 15, 2014 - Baker Mitchell is a politically connected North Carolina businessman who celebrates the power of the free market. Every year, millions of public education dollars flow through Mitchell's chain of four nonprofit charter schools to for-profit companies he controls.

October 10, 2014 - The nation's largest electric utility has skewed its political contributions to give anti-regulatory Republicans a better shot at capturing control of the Senate, as has the industry at large. But Duke and other utilities are hedging their bets by backing key incumbent Democrats, including Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

October 9, 2014 - With judicial public financing gone in North Carolina, would-be judges must chase campaign money -- a process that has some experts calling for reform while leaving voters leery of a politicized judiciary.