Mitch Kokai
Carolina Journal
North Carolina’s elected officials will be dealing with Helene’s impact for months if not years to come. As western North Carolina rebuilds from the storm’s destruction, politicians can strive to restore bipartisan faith in government’s performance of its core functions.
Achieving that goal will require effort from both sides of the partisan divide.
The most recent Carolina Journal Poll conducted Oct. 12-14 suggests there’s plenty of work to do.
Pollsters asked likely general election voters in North Carolina three questions related to disaster relief.
First, given the recent destruction tied to Hurricane Helene, how much confidence do you have in the ability of North Carolina’s emergency authorities to respond to natural disasters?
Some 38% of respondents signaled a great deal of confidence, another 28% said some confidence, while roughly 30% answered little or no confidence at all. About 4% said they were unsure.
Looking beyond the headline numbers, a clear partisan split emerges. While 61% of Democrats expressed a great deal of confidence, just 15% of Republicans chose that option. Half of Republicans surveyed indicated they had little to no confidence in the state’s emergency authorities. Just 9% of Democrats chose the most pessimistic answer. Among those adopting neither major-party label, 40% chose the “great deal of confidence” option. Almost a third (32%) had little or no confidence at all.
Partisan splits emerged again for the next question: Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, also known as FEMA?
Overall, FEMA’s favorability rating was slightly under water. While 46% of likely North Carolina general election voters hold a favorable view of the federal agency, 48% registered an unfavorable opinion.
Democrats and Republicans offered almost polar-opposite assessments of FEMA. More than three-quarters of Democrats (78%) express a favorable view of the emergency group, compared to just 16% of Republicans. Nearly four in five Republicans (79%) hold an unfavorable view of FEMA, compared to 17% of Democrats. Unfavorable answers (49%) topped favorables (47%) among independents.
The third question asked to what extent do you believe the federal government should be responsible for providing disaster relief compared to the state and local government?
Overall, 62% of likely voters believe in an even split between the federal government and state and local governments in offering relief. About 23% prefer a relief effort led primarily by the feds, while 11% believe state and local government should assume most responsibility.
Republicans (62%), Democrats (63%), and independents (61%) all supported the equal split option by clear majorities. Democrats (28%) were more likely than independents (24%) or Republicans (17%) to place more emphasis on the federal government. Republicans (15%) supported state and local control more than independents (13%) or Democrats (6%).
These poll results suggest political actors can take steps to build more trust among voters moving forward.
Unanimous bipartisan votes supported House Bill 149, the initial $273 million Helene relief package unveiled on Oct. 9. Gov. Roy Cooper signed the measure into law the following day.
The Democrat Cooper and Republican legislative leaders have waged a series of battles throughout his tenure. Yet lawmakers adopted measures in HB 149 that gave Cooper’s administration greater flexibility in handling Helene-related business. The General Assembly also extended the official Helene emergency through March 1, avoiding a possible fight over the governor’s emergency decisions in the next four months.
Unanimity didn’t last long. On the same day Cooper produced a new $3.9 billion Helene request, top GOP senators blasted the governor’s request for $175 million to address the “financial catastrophe” related to earlier hurricane relief.
It’s unlikely that every Helene-related measure will attract unanimous support moving forward. Yet recovery doesn’t need to descend into another source of partisan battles.
Republican legislators should stick to common-sense measures that appeal to at least some Democrats. If lawmakers pursue regulatory flexibility or other measures that often anger the environmental left, good data ought to back up the proposals.
For his part, Cooper can boost trust among Republicans and skeptical independents by avoiding partisan rhetoric and political stunts during Helene recovery. The governor’s team also can do a better job answering lawmakers’ legitimate questions about the way the executive branch has handled money when addressing past state emergencies.
No one should expect Helene to end partisan bickering over tax policy, school choice, abortion, or other hot-button issues. But recovery efforts offer an opportunity for politicians to show they can work together to address one of North Carolina’s most pressing concerns.
Mitch Kokai is senior political analyst for the John Locke Foundation.
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