The NC GOP ticket will bring out more voters – but not the ones the party wants | Opinion

North Carolina Republicans have turned on the turnout machine — for Democrats.

Democrats aren’t thrilled about their candidates. They’re lukewarm about Joe Biden for president and Josh Stein’s gubernatorial bid isn’t firing up the base. U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson is a likable candidate for attorney general, but is still introducing himself to voters. And Mo Green for superintendent of public instruction is unknown outside of education and philanthropy circles.

But Democrats — and many unaffiliated voters — will turn out with a passion against the GOP ticket that emerged from Tuesday’s primary.

Re-running Donald Trump for president is polarizing enough. Now the state’s Republican voters have nominated vitriolic Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson for governor, Dan Bishop, the caustic “bathroom bill” architect and election denier, for attorney general and Michele Morrow, an anti-public schools zealot, for superintendent of public instruction. Morrow’s agenda is summed up by her 2020 tweet: “We should be MOST concerned about losing the next generation of citizens to our Public School socialist indoctrination centers!!”

Democratic leaders’ eyes must be getting wide. After years of false starts, they may turn North Carolina blue in the presidential race, pick up key Council of State offices and see a Democratic tide that will let them win statewide judicial elections.

Democrats won’t be able to take control of the General Assembly or hold onto several Congressional seats because of gerrymandering, but they may be able to take away the GOP’s veto-proof legislative majority.

But what about Biden’s low approval ratings? Those will improve as the economy does and Democrats get over their disappointment that the 81-year-old is seeking a second term. What really matters is who he is running against and who Democrats and many independents will be voting against.

Nikki Haley atop the GOP ticket would have been a problem for Democrats. She would have been a safe, sensible and energetic option to Sleepy Joe. Getting Trump instead is a gift for Democrats. Trump has his base, but he can’t grow it.

In North Carolina, Trump is slipping. He won North Carolina by 3.6% over Hillary Clinton in 2016. Against Biden in 2020, his margin fell to 1.4% even as turnout reached a record 75%.

Four years later, Trump will face a state where the demographics have shifted even further toward minority and urban voters. Deep blue Wake and Mecklenburg counties and counties adjacent to them account for most of the state’s population growth since 2020. Meanwhile, turnout among young voters who tend to vote Democratic is on the rise.

Add Robinson to the mix and Republican prospects grow dimmer. Sure, he’s a fiery speaker, MAGA voters love him and consultants will soften his rough edges with an up-from-the-bootstraps story, but that won’t change Robinson’s over-the-top reality. His outrageous comments and checkered financial history are well documented.

What should be even more worrying for Republicans is what is not known about Robinson. He rose to prominence on the basis of a viral gun-rights video and won office on his first try. Much about him is unknown, but will become known in the glare of a gubernatorial race. His nomination has attracted national comment, and not in a good way.

Bishop and Morrow won’t move Democrats as profoundly as Trump and Robinson, but they are MAGA candidates who will be limited by the same narrow appeal that won them their nominations. Morrow’s victory is a big break for Democrats. Unseating a Republican incumbent in Catherine Truitt would have been a tall order. Now the path is wide open for Green to take the post.

It is possible, of course, that the GOP ticket wins and the nation and North Carolina enter a dark age of politics driven by anger, resentment and retribution. But it’s precisely that prospect that will bring a surge of Democratic voters to the polls.

Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-404-7583, or nbarnett@ newsobserver.com.