7 big questions for N.C. politics in 2023

Will anyone else enter the governor race? And will the state House have a 'working supermajority'?

Welcome to 2023. An odd-numbered year means there are no high-profile elections this November, but plenty of positioning for 2024. Candidate filing will begin December 4.

It’s also the long session for the General Assembly, with new faces and new dynamics in both chambers.

Here are seven big questions in North Carolina politics that I’ll be waiting for answers to in 2023.

Will anyone else jump into the governor race?

We know the two major players: Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, and Attorney General Josh Stein on the Democrat side. By the middle of this year, we should know if any other significant political figures will jump into the race, as well.

Based on polling, Robinson has all but locked up the Republican nomination for governor. But the party could very well push another high-profile GOP leader into the race over the real concerns that Robinson would not be electable in a general election. Most likely, this person would be U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis — the only politician with enoug…