Southey Blanton
@southey4senate.bsky.social
I’m Southey Blanton. I’m running for NC Senate District 25. I was born and raised in NC and I’m running to fight for public schools, the kids that attend them and the teachers and staff that make them great! www.southey4senate.com
Pinned
Hi North Carolina and Bluesky. Instead of emailing my state senator. I’ve decided to run against her. Please follow, share, and donate! #NCSD25 #southey4senate #fundpublicschools
I didn't know Dan personally, but being online and an Eagles fan here in NC meant I would tweet back and forth with him as he had an encyclopedic knowledge of Philly fandom and wisdom, he was also hilarious and a great writer. This is such a loss. Look forward to rereading many of his pieces.
Rest in peace to one of the great bloggers and the de facto mayor of Philadelphia. It was my honor and pleasure to work with him. defector.com/dan-mcquade-...
Dan McQuade, 1983–2026 | Defector
Dan McQuade, our friend and colleague, died this week at the age of 43. He is survived by his wife and young son. At the end of 2024, Dan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer. The news of his diag...
defector.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:45 AM
I didn't know Dan personally, but being online and an Eagles fan here in NC meant I would tweet back and forth with him as he had an encyclopedic knowledge of Philly fandom and wisdom, he was also hilarious and a great writer. This is such a loss. Look forward to rereading many of his pieces.
Reposted by Southey Blanton
Minneapolis residents aren’t just pushing back against Trump’s crackdown—they’re undercutting MAGA’s core philosophy, Adam Serwer argues.
How Minnesotans Faced Down MAGA
The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.
bit.ly
January 27, 2026 at 2:59 AM
Minneapolis residents aren’t just pushing back against Trump’s crackdown—they’re undercutting MAGA’s core philosophy, Adam Serwer argues.
Here is a quick explainer about NC Senate District 25. There are public schools all over my district and I plan to fight for every single student and teacher in them. Be sure to sign up to volunteer or keep up with events at www.southey4senate.com
#southey4senate #fundpublicschools
#southey4senate #fundpublicschools
January 27, 2026 at 2:35 AM
Here is a quick explainer about NC Senate District 25. There are public schools all over my district and I plan to fight for every single student and teacher in them. Be sure to sign up to volunteer or keep up with events at www.southey4senate.com
#southey4senate #fundpublicschools
#southey4senate #fundpublicschools
ALAMANCE HOUR OF ACTION Weekly Gathering for Democracy
Together, we have the power to demand justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Join us as we stand up for democracy, and inspire others to take action.
Where We Gather: Sidewalk along S. Church St., between the parking lot and Overbrook Rd.
Together, we have the power to demand justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Join us as we stand up for democracy, and inspire others to take action.
Where We Gather: Sidewalk along S. Church St., between the parking lot and Overbrook Rd.
January 26, 2026 at 3:15 AM
ALAMANCE HOUR OF ACTION Weekly Gathering for Democracy
Together, we have the power to demand justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Join us as we stand up for democracy, and inspire others to take action.
Where We Gather: Sidewalk along S. Church St., between the parking lot and Overbrook Rd.
Together, we have the power to demand justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Join us as we stand up for democracy, and inspire others to take action.
Where We Gather: Sidewalk along S. Church St., between the parking lot and Overbrook Rd.
Reposted by Southey Blanton
imagine if all that money had gone to teachers instead
January 25, 2026 at 2:37 PM
imagine if all that money had gone to teachers instead
This should sound the alarm for any school administrators who have EdTech pitches thrown their way. Get ready for the EdTech machine to pitch your state or school system on AI Agents instead of teachers as a way to save money. Sacrificing your kids education to turn them into training data.
Documents from lawsuit claiming Meta & Google purposely marketed addictive & dangerous products to children reveal corporate strategies for pushing into a schools to force young kids into their ecosystems.
Below slide from internal Google pitch deck.
www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-...
Below slide from internal Google pitch deck.
www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-...
January 25, 2026 at 3:43 PM
This should sound the alarm for any school administrators who have EdTech pitches thrown their way. Get ready for the EdTech machine to pitch your state or school system on AI Agents instead of teachers as a way to save money. Sacrificing your kids education to turn them into training data.
They pay no sales tax, get discounted rates through contracts with Duke Energy, use vital resources and create noise, and depending what models are running on them could be churning out CSAM or stealing copyrighted material from writers and artists. #regulateAIandDataCenters #southey4senate
Most people have heard about how datacenter development is flooding into North Carolina. But did you know that we, North Carolina residents and taxpayers, are subsidizing them?
January 25, 2026 at 2:04 PM
They pay no sales tax, get discounted rates through contracts with Duke Energy, use vital resources and create noise, and depending what models are running on them could be churning out CSAM or stealing copyrighted material from writers and artists. #regulateAIandDataCenters #southey4senate
The sleet has arrived here in West Burlington. @timbuckleywx.bsky.social
January 25, 2026 at 12:56 AM
The sleet has arrived here in West Burlington. @timbuckleywx.bsky.social
Every single day that passes without the Leandro Plan being funded is a day where resources and opportunity are stolen away from kids, teachers, and families all across North Carolina.
Community schools are amazing! That's why the Leandro Plan requires the state to create a network of 800 community schools across the state (and why it's a tragedy that EdNC fails to remind its audience that state politicians are shirking this legal and moral obligation)
#ncpol #LeadWithLeandro
#ncpol #LeadWithLeandro
New documentary offers a look at how the community school model can support transformative growth
Find out how P.W. Moore Elementary exemplifies the community school model, fostering learning and growth for every child.
www.ednc.org
January 22, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Every single day that passes without the Leandro Plan being funded is a day where resources and opportunity are stolen away from kids, teachers, and families all across North Carolina.
With the forecast calling for snow this coming weekend I rushed out to get supplies*
*Donuts from NC Jelly Donuts
Listen to local meteorologists like @timbuckleywx.bsky.social and avoid Apple’s weather app, I wouldn’t even trust it to tell me if the sun was hot. #weatherready #southey4senate
*Donuts from NC Jelly Donuts
Listen to local meteorologists like @timbuckleywx.bsky.social and avoid Apple’s weather app, I wouldn’t even trust it to tell me if the sun was hot. #weatherready #southey4senate
January 20, 2026 at 8:54 PM
With the forecast calling for snow this coming weekend I rushed out to get supplies*
*Donuts from NC Jelly Donuts
Listen to local meteorologists like @timbuckleywx.bsky.social and avoid Apple’s weather app, I wouldn’t even trust it to tell me if the sun was hot. #weatherready #southey4senate
*Donuts from NC Jelly Donuts
Listen to local meteorologists like @timbuckleywx.bsky.social and avoid Apple’s weather app, I wouldn’t even trust it to tell me if the sun was hot. #weatherready #southey4senate
Congrats to Coach Cignetti on his incredible national championship, which I can only assume was possible because of his time honing his skills at @elonuniversity.bsky.social @edsbs.bsky.social
January 20, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Congrats to Coach Cignetti on his incredible national championship, which I can only assume was possible because of his time honing his skills at @elonuniversity.bsky.social @edsbs.bsky.social
@bencollins.bsky.social We keep our pile of Onions in the living room and my daughter discovered them. She is learning to read so I said go for it. She really liked the fake Listerine ad. She thought it was hilarious. #theonionhelpskidslearn
January 20, 2026 at 1:16 AM
@bencollins.bsky.social We keep our pile of Onions in the living room and my daughter discovered them. She is learning to read so I said go for it. She really liked the fake Listerine ad. She thought it was hilarious. #theonionhelpskidslearn
Had a fantastic time hanging out at the @alamancedems.bsky.social table at the MLK Day Celebration at Mayco Bigelow Community center today in Burlington. An incredible packed out sharing in community, support, and the messages of MLK that are still resonating today.
January 19, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Had a fantastic time hanging out at the @alamancedems.bsky.social table at the MLK Day Celebration at Mayco Bigelow Community center today in Burlington. An incredible packed out sharing in community, support, and the messages of MLK that are still resonating today.
My oldest kid really enjoyed The March graphic novel series that told the story and practices that SNCC used. I think every kid should get to read them.
January 19, 2026 at 3:42 PM
My oldest kid really enjoyed The March graphic novel series that told the story and practices that SNCC used. I think every kid should get to read them.
Reposted by Southey Blanton
Very grateful for her contributions to a profound technology spanning many uses.
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
thezebra.org
January 19, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Very grateful for her contributions to a profound technology spanning many uses.
Reposted by Southey Blanton
“The purpose of our direct-action program,” Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in 1963, “is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.”
He was born on this day in 1929:
He was born on this day in 1929:
MLK Now
Canonization has prevented a reckoning with the substance of King’s intellectual, ethical, and political commitments.
www.bostonreview.net
January 15, 2026 at 2:26 PM
“The purpose of our direct-action program,” Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in 1963, “is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.”
He was born on this day in 1929:
He was born on this day in 1929:
There is no shortage of quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. With the state of our nation being one where neighbors and friends are being harassed and forced to show their papers I found this quite particularly relevant.
January 19, 2026 at 2:33 PM
There is no shortage of quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. With the state of our nation being one where neighbors and friends are being harassed and forced to show their papers I found this quite particularly relevant.
Excited for my first official campaign event of the year! @ncdemocrats.bsky.social @alamancedems.bsky.social
January 17, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Excited for my first official campaign event of the year! @ncdemocrats.bsky.social @alamancedems.bsky.social
My entire campaign is about making sure NC public schools and the teachers, staff, and students that attend them get the funding and help they need. #southey4senate #fundpublicschools #fundleandro #payteachers
January 17, 2026 at 4:30 AM
My entire campaign is about making sure NC public schools and the teachers, staff, and students that attend them get the funding and help they need. #southey4senate #fundpublicschools #fundleandro #payteachers
I’m not one to look to universe for signs very often. But the fact that I’m running for office and I discovered this picture from 6 years ago feels like the universe telling me it’s the right time to try. #southey4senate #fundpublicachools #payteachers #letsturnthisthingaround #NCSD25
January 17, 2026 at 12:36 AM
I’m not one to look to universe for signs very often. But the fact that I’m running for office and I discovered this picture from 6 years ago feels like the universe telling me it’s the right time to try. #southey4senate #fundpublicachools #payteachers #letsturnthisthingaround #NCSD25
The NC Board of Elections has again chosen to refuse to have a early voting site on a college campus, choosing the Kernodle Senior Center instead of the South Gym at Elon University. So the three early voting locations for the March 3rd primary election have been set. #ncvoting #southey4senate
January 15, 2026 at 6:35 PM
The NC Board of Elections has again chosen to refuse to have a early voting site on a college campus, choosing the Kernodle Senior Center instead of the South Gym at Elon University. So the three early voting locations for the March 3rd primary election have been set. #ncvoting #southey4senate
Thank you so much to the Randolph County Young Democrats for allowing me to come speak and meet with them tonight. Randolph County is a red county, but seeing a group of young people charter their own Young Dems chapter to try and make a difference is awesome. #southey4senate #fundpublicschools
January 15, 2026 at 4:22 AM
Thank you so much to the Randolph County Young Democrats for allowing me to come speak and meet with them tonight. Randolph County is a red county, but seeing a group of young people charter their own Young Dems chapter to try and make a difference is awesome. #southey4senate #fundpublicschools
With Anti-ICE protests happening across the country, I want to give a shout out to the students at Southeast Alamance High School who are pushing for their own protest as well. The kids are alright y'all. #abolishice
January 12, 2026 at 12:55 PM
With Anti-ICE protests happening across the country, I want to give a shout out to the students at Southeast Alamance High School who are pushing for their own protest as well. The kids are alright y'all. #abolishice
Last week at the Alamance County Democratic Party meeting this event was discussed and the enthusiasm was so strong they would have been out there in a blizzard. Really proud of the community I live in.
Today in Burlington, NC.
Even with ~35mph wind gusts & some sleet, red-ish Alamance County (where the county jail is an official ICE detention facility thanks to Arpaio-wannabe Sheriff Terry Johnson) held one of its more impressive actions in some time.
Folks showed up early & stayed late!
Even with ~35mph wind gusts & some sleet, red-ish Alamance County (where the county jail is an official ICE detention facility thanks to Arpaio-wannabe Sheriff Terry Johnson) held one of its more impressive actions in some time.
Folks showed up early & stayed late!
January 12, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Last week at the Alamance County Democratic Party meeting this event was discussed and the enthusiasm was so strong they would have been out there in a blizzard. Really proud of the community I live in.
We are 5 days into the campaign and I launched my first weekly update newsletter “Sundays with Southey”, because alliteration is fun and I want to make it easy to keep up with where I’m at and what I’m doing. Subscribe at www.southey4senate.com #southey4senate #NCSD25 #fundpublicschools
January 12, 2026 at 4:30 AM
We are 5 days into the campaign and I launched my first weekly update newsletter “Sundays with Southey”, because alliteration is fun and I want to make it easy to keep up with where I’m at and what I’m doing. Subscribe at www.southey4senate.com #southey4senate #NCSD25 #fundpublicschools