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HB2 ‘Deeply Unpopular’ – New Poll Finds Majority Say Anti-LGBT Law Hurting North Carolina

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New Poll Finds Shrinking Support for HB2, Even Republicans Say It’s Not Working

Nearly half (45%) of North Carolina voters are opposed to Gov. Pat McCrory‘s anti-LGBT law HB2, broad legislation that bans transgender people from using public restrooms that conform with their gender identity, and strips local government control over minimum wage and employment discrimination. Only 36 percent of voters support the controversial law, Public Policy Polling reports, calling it “deeply unpopular.”

63 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of independents oppose the law, while 56 percent of Republicans support it. But there’s a wide set of undecideds in those numbers. Overall, 19 percent are “unsure,” and given the negative nationwide publicity and momentum, it’s likely the majority of those who are currently undecided will swing to oppose the law.

More than half of voters (54%) say HB2 is having a negative impact on the economy, and 53% say it’s hurting North Carolina. 

As for claims HB2 would make people safer, voters disagree. Just 37 percent say it does, 44 percent say it does not.

“A lot of the rhetoric around the bill,” PPP states, has been “about protecting women but they both oppose the bill (33/46) and think it’s failing to make the state safer (34/48) by even wider margins than the population as a whole.”

PPP notes that since Gov. Pat McCrory signed HB2, and has been actively defending it, he is behind in the polls against his Democratic opponent, Roy Cooper “for the first time in 3 months in our polling.”

Cooper has the advantage with 43% to 42% for McCrory, with Libertarian Lon Cecil at 4%. McCrory led our North Carolina polls in both February and March but has seen his deficit among Democrats grow from 65/16 to 73/14 amid the furor over HB2. One of the reasons McCrory was elected by such a wide margin in 2012 was substantial crossover support from Democrats, and he’s lost most of that in the subsequent years.

Overall, HB2 is helping Democratic lawmakers and gubernatorial candidate Roy Cooper, which might mean a Democratic sweep come November.

On Monday, well over 1200 came out to rally against HB2:

  

EARLIER:

Watch This New Ad Attacking North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory for His Anti-LGBT Law HB2

Watch: Ted Cruz Tells Transgender Women to Only Use the ‘Bathroom at Home’

Pat McCrory Gets 185,000 Petitions Calling for HB2 Repeal – Calls It a ‘National Smear Campaign’

 

Image by Equality North Carolina via Twitter

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‘He Was the Only One’: Trump Mocked for Declaring Iran’s Moves ‘Shocked’ Him

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March 16, 2026

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President Donald Trump is facing criticism and mockery after admitting he was “shocked” that Iran fought back against Operation Epic Fury.

“Trump just admitted publicly that his administration underestimated the Iranian response to his attack,” The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin reported.

During a meeting of the board governing the Kennedy Center, Trump said, “look what happened. In the last two weeks, they weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. Those missiles were set to go after them. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”

Focusing on Trump’s “shocked” remark, some critics blasted the president, once again, for what many have previously said is a Commander-in-Chief who was unprepared to go to war against Iran.

The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser called Trump’s comments a “Remarkable admission.”

READ MORE: ‘Lazy and Unstrategic’: GOP Senator Slams ‘Republican on Republican Violence’

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Justin Amash declared, “We are governed by complete morons.”

Podcaster Clint Russell noted, “Just FYI, this is the EXACT reason our generals have consistently advised against a war with Iran. Even Charlie Kirk had laid this all out on his show a couple years ago. Iran was no threat to America but they were fully capable of destroying the global economy by striking oil facilities and transit throughout the region.”

Robert Manning, a Distinguished Fellow in Global Foresight at the nonpartisan Stimson Center, wrote: “If so, he was the only one surprised. Strategic planners have war games this for 40 years. Hard to believe JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] didn’t advise Trump this was likely.”

“I’m pretty confident every war plan US has ever done in last 30 years gaming out this conflict was based on expectation that Iran could in fact [and] would in fact do this,” noted The Nation’s Jeet Heer.

“Every institution built to prevent exactly this outcome existed, was bypassed, and we are now watching the president express shock at conclusions that were already written in the classified assessments he didn’t read,” observed Christine Villaverde, the chairwoman of Anchoring Democracy.

READ MORE: Kristi Noem at Center of Push for DOJ Perjury Probe: Report

 

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‘Lazy and Unstrategic’: GOP Senator Slams ‘Republican on Republican Violence’

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15 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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A prominent Republican senator is denouncing his own party while lamenting the lack of an official presidential endorsement in the highly contentious Texas Republican Senate runoff election.

Agreeing that it is a mistake for President Donald Trump to withhold his endorsement of either Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton or U.S. Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned, “I think the more time we spend millions of dollars with Republican-on-Republican violence, Democrats are in the marketing department, loving the idea of a competitive runoff.”

“I get tired of Republicans being lazy and unstrategic,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju, appearing to suggest there are other ways for one of the candidates to pull ahead.

“People on my side of the aisle, and people at the far right of the political spectrum, are trying to swing for the fences, and they’re not gonna succeed,” he warned.

READ MORE: Kristi Noem at Center of Push for DOJ Perjury Probe: Report

A runoff election between Cornyn and Paxton will take place on May 26, and the president has yet to endorse either contender.

Reports suggest a Cornyn endorsement is more likely, although Paxton has been a reliable MAGA supporter. Trump has even suggested that whichever candidate does not get his backing should quit the race entirely, clearing the way for the presumptive nominee to battle the Democratic nominee, James Talarico.

“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, on March 4, “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!”

He vowed to make his endorsement “soon,” but has yet to do so.

Each passing day gives Talarico more time to campaign and build his war chest as the two GOP contenders spend their time and money battling each other.

READ MORE: Gas Prices Near $4 in These Five States

 

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Gas Prices Near $4 in These Five States

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18 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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Gas prices are continuing to substantially increase, with five states now hovering near $4 a gallon and several others seeing sharp increases as President Donald Trump’s war in Iran enters its 17th day.

“Big gas price hikes just now starting to happen in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri today, which will likely push the national average to $3.75-$3.80 by mid-week,” reports Patrick De Haan, the head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy.

But, he also notes that Michigan and the Chicago area are already seeing $3.99 per gallon as of Monday. Indiana drivers are seeing $3.89, and Ohio and Kentucky are seeing $3.79 per gallon.

De Haan directly attributes the increases to the summer gasoline changeover and the ongoing Iran situation.

“The national average is up 80.0 cents from a month ago and is 66.1 cents per gallon higher than a year ago,” WANE reports, citing GasBuddy’s data.

Drivers should not expect to see prices come down significantly anytime soon.

“Until we see a meaningful resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, upward pressure on fuel prices is likely to persist,” De Haan said. “At the same time, seasonal forces are beginning to intensify as several regions complete the transition to summer gasoline, creating a double headwind that could continue driving pump prices higher in the weeks ahead.”

READ MORE: Kristi Noem at Center of Push for DOJ Perjury Probe: Report

 

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