9 potential governors Republicans should invest in

The time is now to build a statewide presence for candidates to compete in 2032. Here's what I'd do.

There’s an old adage that goes something like this: The best time to plant a political operation is 20 years ago. The second-best time is right now.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve written about why why Democrats have maintained control of the top executive positions in North Carolina politics. After this month’s election, Republicans are now likely shut out for at least another decade. Now let’s talk about what to do about it.

Obviously, the best time to start this effort would have been 20 to 30 years ago. With the right organization and a little foresight, Republicans could have started building their own Council of State-level political infrastructure in the 1990s and secured control of the North Carolina governor’s mansion by the early 2000s. That’s basically what the GOP did in other Southern states, like Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.

But that ship has obviously sailed. So the second-best time to start building this infrastructure is right now. To have any shot at competing…