Here's a fun fact: 81% of North Carolina's state legislative races in 2024 were either uncontested or uncompetitive. That's not democracy. That's theater.
Both parties gerrymander. Both are wrong. But right now, in North Carolina, one party controls the map. And they've used it to build a machine that runs on autopilot.
In 2022, the NC Supreme Court ruled that drawing legislative districts along political lines violated the state constitution. Fair maps. Fair races. Something resembling actual democracy.
That lasted about ten months.
Republicans flipped two seats on the court that November, creating a 5-2 majority. By February 2023, the new court used a rarely invoked procedural rule to rehear the exact same case. By April, they reversed the ruling entirely. Partisan gerrymandering? Not our problem, they said. Take it up with the legislature.
The legislature. The same body that drew the gerrymandered maps in the first place. They got the green light to draw them again. And they did, using political data to guarantee outcomes, not represent communities.
That's how you get 81%.
Whatever it wants.
When voters elected a Democratic governor by 15 points in 2024, the legislature responded by stripping his powers before he took office. They buried the changes in a hurricane relief bill and gave the public one hour to review 130 pages.
North Carolina is the only state in the nation that couldn't pass a budget for 2025. The fiscal year started in July. Teachers' salaries are frozen. Healthcare providers are cutting services. Schools don't know what funding they'll get. Republicans control both chambers. They can't agree with themselves. While they fight over tax cuts, you're paying the price.
This is what happens when politicians don't have to answer to you.
District 31 covers all of Stokes County and chunks of Forsyth County. It was carved up to be safe. Unassailable. Unchallenged. Your state senator doesn't need your vote. They already have their seat. And that means they don't need to listen to you.
Look, I know how this sounds. Running in a district this lopsided is like bringing a pizza to a gunfight. But hey, people are hungry.
Here's what happens when nobody shows up:
And here's the thing about those "safe" Republican voters: you're not being represented either.
Your state senator doesn't have to earn your vote. They don't have to show up to town halls. They don't have to answer your questions. The map already did their job for them.
When the map guarantees the outcome, nobody has to earn your trust. Nobody has to show up to your town hall. Nobody has to explain why your schools are underfunded or your roads aren't fixed.
Isn't that kind of insulting?
The rigged system isn't abstract. It's playing out right now in your community.