Chris Cooper
banner
chriscooperwcu.bsky.social
Chris Cooper
@chriscooperwcu.bsky.social
Professor of Political Science & Public Affairs at Western Carolina University. American politics, state politics, North Carolina politics, southern politics, elections. Recent book: Anatomy of a Purple State (UNC Press 2024).
http://www.chriscooperwcu.com
Filing w/ the FEC matters but that doesn't make you a candidate.

To appear on the ballot you must file w/ NCSBE. Those deadlines vary by state, but in #ncpol, the filing period is Dec. 1-Dec. 19.

see @oldnorthstpolitics.bsky.social 🔗 ⬇️ for more

3/3

www.oldnorthstatepolitics.com/2025/08/who-...
Who is a Candidate for Office? The Answer is More Complicated Than You Might Think
by Christopher Cooper On January 15, 2025, Andy Nillson announced that he would be a Republican candidate for United States Senate. On Augus...
www.oldnorthstatepolitics.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM
That brings the grand total to 8 Democrats & 2 Republicans who have filed w/ the @FEC.

1 of those Democrats has withdrawn (@ColMoeDavis) & 1 other (@ChrisHarjes) is still posting online content, but has indicated that he is not going to file.

2/3
November 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Chris Cooper
BREAKING: Justice Alito has temporarily blocked the Texas redistricting court's order, effectively restoring the newly drawn map, while the Supreme Court considers the petition. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
November 22, 2025 at 12:48 AM
So what happens now? Why appeal, of course.

But, as @taniel.bsky.social reminds us, the filing deadline is right around the corner

(5/5)
November 18, 2025 at 8:07 PM
And, there were, of course, experts presenting quantitative data showing the likelihood of creating such a map based on criteria other than race.

See here for a good summary of the court's assessment of Dr. Moon Duchin's report.

(4/5)
November 18, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The order is 160 pages, so there's too much to tweet w/o taking all day), but the decision systematically reviews a whole lot of legislative history & public record information to establish that it was race, not partisanship that drove the decision. See this, for ex ⤵️(3/5)
November 18, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The defendants had argued that this new map was about partisanship (namely, getting more Reps in office), not race.

This is a similar argument to what we're likely to see in #ncpol & elsewhere (see #5 in this @theassemblync.bsky.social piece: theassemblync.com/politics/nc-...)

(2/5)
November 18, 2025 at 8:07 PM
It went beyond the songs--every word of those seemingly spontaneous stories was planned, practiced & served a purpose

Stage patter wasn’t something to to kill time while tuning his guitar on stage; it always set up the next song.

Every word and every thing with a purpose

(2/2)
November 17, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Not yet. But we can hope that next year they will.

Many of them this semester were enamored with "kick-ass concepts." Less so when they looked it up & figured out that it's just a real estate developer, but when their imaginations were flying as to the purpose, it was truly something to behind.
November 17, 2025 at 8:25 PM