SALISBURY — Rowan County Republicans have a a busy March ahead of them.

The Rowan County Republican Party will hold its annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at 6 p.m. March 13 at the Event Center, 215 Webb Road, Salisbury.

Lt. Gov. Dan Forest will be the speaker for the dinner, which is one of the Rowan GOP’s biggest annual event. The party will also recognize the volunteer of the year and the Republican of the year.

Tickets start at $50.

The Rowan County 2020 Republican Convention will be 8:15 a.m.-12 p.m. March 14 at 130 W. Innes St., Salisbury.

Registration is $10. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. and the convention starts at 9:30 a..m.

Polls show Biden with slim lead in NC

With the 2020 primary election just one day away, averages show former Vice President Joe Biden polling best in North Carolina among Democrats running for president.

Real Clear Politics’ polling average puts Biden at 25.6%. And while that’s best among Democrats, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is within a 2.2% margin of error, with 23.4% of N.C. voter support. Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg has 16% in Real Clear Politics polling average. Sen. Elizabeth Warren rounds out the top four, with 11%.

Meanwhile, data and analytics website FiveThirtyEight has a closer race between Biden and Sanders. Its polling average gives Biden 24.4% of the vote in North Carolina to Sanders’ 23.1%. Bloomberg has 16.5% and Warren has 10.3% in the FiveThirtyEight average.

In the Democratic primary, candidates must receive 15% of the vote to be awarded delegates from North Carolina.

Poll finds social media most common place for political conflicts, partisan difference on economy

Two out of three of N.C. voters believe political divisions have made their lives uncomfortable and that politics is likely to become even more divisive in the years to come, according to a newly released Elon University poll.

Social media is the most common place they find political conflicts — more than at work, with friends and family, or in various groups they belong to. Two-thirds of voters — 66% — report that division between political parties has made their life uncomfortable at times. Democrats and those who identify as liberal were more likely to report that those divisions are making their lives uncomfortable, as were women.

The poll also found clear differences of opinion on many issues based on party affiliation and political ideology. Generally speaking, Republicans and those who identified as conservative are more likely to be bullish on the economy, both in recent years and in the years to come. They’re more satisfied with their health care and health insurance but are against further government involvement in health care and believe the Affordable Care Act has been bad for North Carolina.

By contrast, Democrats and those who identify as liberal are less likely to say the economy has been on an upswing since 2017 and are most likely to say the economy will stay the same going forward. They are less likely to be “very satisfied” with their health insurance, and one in five give the U.S. health care system a failing grade. They believe the Affordable Care Act has improved health care in North Carolina, and three in four support government becoming more involved in paying for health care.

The survey of 1,403 North Carolina voters was conducted Feb. 10-21 by telephone and by using an online opt-in sample marketplace. The poll had 524 respondents participate by phone and 879 respondents participate online.

Budd Leads Bipartisan Bill to Combat Foreign Robocalls

Rep. Ted Budd, R-13, on Thursday introduced the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act alongside Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Missouri, and Rep. Dan Bishop, R-9.

The legislation directs the Federal Communications Commission to convene an interagency task force with the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General to develop effective measures to combat robocalls coming from abroad.

“Robocalls are an issue that has affected nearly every American, including myself,” Budd said. “These seemingly endless automated phone calls disrupt our daily lives, constitute a serious form of harassment, and expose millions of Americans to dangerous financial scams. The TRACED Act, which President Trump signed into law late last year, was a tremendous step forward in combating these illegal calls. Our bill builds on that success by primarily taking on robocalls coming from outside our borders.” 

Bishop said the robocalls are not just a nuisance, but an illegal invasion of privacy.