How can a state be represented by Jesse Helms and John Edwards at
the same time? Journalist Rob Christensen answers that question and
navigates a century of political history in North Carolina, one of
the most politically vibrant and competitive southern states, where
neither conservatives nor liberals, Democrats nor Republicans, have
been able to rest easy. It is this climate of competition and
challenge, Christensen argues, that enabled North Carolina to rise
from poverty in the nineteenth century to become a leader in
research, education, and banking in the twentieth.
In this new paperback edition, Christensen provides updated
coverage of recent changes in North Carolina's political landscape,
including the scandals surrounding John Edwards and Mike Easley,
the defeat of U.S. senator Elizabeth Dole, the election of the
state's first woman governor, and voters' approval of an African
American candidate for president. The book provides an overview of
the run-up to the 2010 elections and explains how North Carolina
has become, arguably, the most politically competitive state in the
South.
