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Race to 270 and Election Edition
From the Council Office of Steve Rao
October 29, 2020
Alerts!
Phase 3 Alert!
Phase 3 expires on Nov 13th at 5 pm.  Governor Cooper will make an announcement next week on NC Reopening.  Secretary Cohen and Governor Cooper warn to be extra careful during Thanksgiving during the Covid 19 Spike.  

Open Data in Morrisville!
Open Data in Morrisville!   (See Last Section for Open Data)
AMERICA VOTES 2020
What are the next steps as results are finally determined? What will the next presidential administration and the 117th Congress look like?
USINPAC Event
Join USINPAC and Ambassador Swati Dandekar, Hemant Bhatt, Council Member Steve Rao, Farook Sait and our media partner, The American Bazaar, on Saturday November 7th at 12:00 pm EST 9:00 am PST on Facebook Live.

Election Highlights
Presidential Results
Joe Biden   253                                     Donald Trump   213
VP Biden
VP Biden Leads Battleground States of Arizona, GA and PA as he gets closer to being elected the 46th President Elect of the United States.  He says he will win the race in his address to the nation.    

President Trump
Trump campaign pursues a lawsuit aimed at halting the count of ballots in Michigan and Pennsylvania and recounts in Wisconsin and Michigan, possible Georgia.
Governor Cooper
Governor Cooper wins second term as Governor! (See Council of State Section)
Attorney General Josh Stein
Attorney General Josh Stein declares narrow victory for a second term
Senator Thom Tillis
Thom Tillis projected to win second term in US Senate.
LOCAL RACES
Congrats to Wake County School Board Member, Chris Heagarty, Wake County Commissioners Sig Hutchison, Vickie Adamson, Matt Calabria, and Commissioner Elect Maria Cervania for their elections. 

Kudos to Rep. Gale Adcock, Rep. Joe John, Sen Wiley Nickel, Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, and Sen. Sam Searcy for their re-elections and to Senator Elect Sarah Crawford for her win! 
Political Commentary by Brad Crone
No Blue Wave in North Carolina
(Data from John Davis Pol Report)
No Blue Wave in North Carolina (Data from John Davis Pol Report)
Trump leads North Carolina; 74.56% turnout!
Trump leads North Carolina. A total of 5,487,252 North Carolina ballots were cast in the 2020 General Election, a record turnout of 74.56%. And, as of this writing, President Donald Trump is carrying North Carolina with 2,732,084 to former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2,655,383.  117,000 outstanding Absentee Ballots are being counted. 
US Senate 51-49 GOP IF MI and GA GOP hold leads; Tillis wins
+ Democrats had a bad night in US Senate races, despite a spending advantage of a couple of billion dollars, as the US Senate appears to be more likely on track to stay in the hands of Republicans. As expected, Republicans Sen. Martha McSally in Arizona and Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado lost their races, and Democrat Sen. Doug Jones in Alabama (Sen. Jeff Sessions seat) lost to former Auburn football coach Tommy Turberville.

+ One of the biggest surprises of the night was the reelection of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. It is estimated that over $100 million was spent against Collins by liberal groups who turned against her for being the decisive vote confirming Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Other Republicans who were considered vulnerable but who were elected include Cornyn in Texas, Ernst in Iowa, Graham in South Carolina, Marshall in Kansas, and Daines in Montana.

+ Ballots are still being counted in Michigan (Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is behind GOP challenger John James at 1:32 pm) and in Georgia, where GOP Sen. David Perdue is ahead by over 150,000 votes at 1:32 pm. There will be a January runoff in Georgia between GOP incumbent Kelly Loeffler and Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock because neither candidate received the required 50% of the total votes.

+ Note: If GOP challenger John James holds his lead in Michigan and Georgia Sen. David Perdue holds his lead, then the Senate becomes 51-49 Republican.

+ $239 million spent on Tillis-Cunningham race. Republican North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis has won a second term over Democrat Cal Cunningham, embattled by his sexting scandal, in the most expensive US Senate race in 2020.  Tillis had 2,640,381 votes to Cunningham’s 2,543,692 votes (at 1:27 pm today).
+ Thanks to the backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Tillis-backed outside groups spent $90 million attacking Cal Cunningham. If you add the amounts spent by the candidates (Tillis spent $18 million; Cunningham spent $46 million) and outside groups, a whopping $239 million was spent in North Carolina on the Tillis-Cunningham race.

+ NOTE: Thom Tillis defeated Sen. Kay Hagan in 2014 in the nation’s most expensive US Senate race that year. Total 2014 spending in the Tillis-Hagan race was $120 million, half of 2020 total.
Democrats Retain Majority in US House
The US House will stay in the hands of Democrats, although with a smaller 227-208 majority (currently Democrats have a 233-201 majority; 1 Independent). Notably, not one single Republican incumbent was defeated by the Democrats in what was supposed to be a night of expanding their majority. “It’s a dumpster fire,” said one Democrat … anonymously.

As expected, North Carolina’s US House delegation will total 8 Republicans and 5 Democrats:

Republicans: US House 3 Rep. Greg Murphy, US House 5 Rep. Virginia Foxx, US House 7 Rep. David Rouzer, US House 8 Rep. Richard Hudson, US House 9 Rep. Dan Bishop, US House 10 Rep. Patrick McHenry, US House 11 Madison Cawthorn (new), and US House 13 Rep. Ted Budd.

Democrats: US House 1 Rep. G.K. Butterfield, US House 2 Deborah Ross (new), US House 4 Rep. David Price, US House 6 Kathy Manning (new) and US House 12 Rep. Elma Adams.
North Carolina Governor & Council of State

+ Council of State. Although Gov. Cooper will be joined on the Council of State by Democrats Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Auditor Beth Wood and Attorney General Josh Stein, he will have to contend with a Republican majority State Senate and House and six Republicans on the Council of State, three incumbents and three newcomers.

+ Council of State incumbent Republicans winning another term include Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, Treasurer Dale Folwell, and Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. Republican newcomers on the Council of State include GOP candidate for Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, Republican Josh Dobson who won the Labor Commissioner’s race, and Catherine Truitt, GOP winner for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Mark Robinson is the first Black American to serve as Lieutenant Governor. 
Republican Majority North Carolina General Assembly
+ Republicans won the majorities in both the State Senate (29-21) and House (68-52), thanks to their ongoing advantage in the number of districts that favor the election of GOP candidates despite years of legal wrangling by Democrats.

+ Holding the majority in both chambers of the General Assembly means Republicans will control the committees that draw the legislative and congressional district maps used for the remainder of the decade. Thanks to population growth, North Carolina’s new federal map will include one new congressional district (from 13 to 14), which will certainly be drawn to favor the election of a Republican.

+ NOTE: NC Governor cannot veto redistricting bills. In 1996, North Carolina became the last state in the nation to give its governor veto power. However, to get the bill passed, then-Gov. Jim Hunt begrudgingly agreed to one major exception: However, to get the bill passed, then-Gov. Jim Hunt begrudgingly agreed to one major exception: governors have no veto power over redistricting and local bills
Republicans pick up seats on NC Supreme Court

As of this writing, all of North Carolina Supreme Court (3) and Court of Appeals (5) races have been won by the Republican candidate.  Phil Berger Jr and Tamara Barringer will serve on the State Supreme Court and we are waiting for the results with the Beasley and Newby race.

The race for Chief Justice is razor-thin, with Republican Justice Paul Newby at 2,670,773 to 2,667,031 There are well more than enough outstanding mailed ballots that could flip the results of this race to Beasley between now and the final day for counting North Carolina absentee ballots, November 12.

However, the other seven appellate judiciary races won by GOP candidates are likely decided.
Open Data in Morrisville
OPEN DATA PROGRAM IN Morrisville!
Exciting news and another milestone in our Smart City and Data Journey in Morrisville!

The Town of Morrisville has unveiled its Open Data Portal, which will allow the Town to continue to increase its transparency by simplifying public access to Morrisville’s information.

Open data is data and datasets that are freely available to the public. Users—anyone in the world with internet access—will be able to utilize the new web-based tool to create graphs, charts and maps based on the datasets. They will be able to download the data, interact with it, reuse it, and redistribute it.

Datasets are organized under the headings of Administration, Environment, Planning and Permits, Public Safety, Recreation and Transportation. The initial Open Data Portal
launch includes a handful of datasets with more datasets coming online at regular intervals.

The new website, which includes demonstration videos outlining how to use the site, can be found at https://opendata.townofmorrisville.org.
Upcoming Events
Heading Barbershop Rap Sessions
Nov 7th 9 am Virtual Barbershop Rap Sessions with Tru Pettigrew.

Let’s continue to do the hard work and Build Bridges.
Diwali Celebration 
Nov 8th 2020 Virtual Cary Diwali Celebration

Please join us as we celebrate this event virtually, through Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/humsub.cary), on Sunday, Nov. 8, 11:30 am ET. We will also send out a link for non-Facebook users closer to the event.

We look forward to reliving memories from past Cary Diwali celebrations, enjoying amazing performances from some of the most talented performers in the Triangle area, and announcing the recipients of this year's Youth Achievement Award.

Here's a link to enjoy some moments from the 2018 Cary Diwali event: https://youtu.be/MFJ2AgnhRQc
Town Council Meeting
Nov 10th 4 pm Town Council RDU Airport Virtual Meeting and Town Council Meeting 

Join us at 4 pm on Tuesday at for an RDU Airport Land/Use Plan Virtual Work Session, followed by a Virtual Town Council Meeting.    Streamed Live at https://www.facebook.com/TownOfMorrisville/

PUBLIC COMMENT: submit public comment for a Town Council Regular - OR - Advisory Board/Committee Meeting via email to publiccomment@townofmorrisville.org.
Veterans Day
Nov 11th Town of Morrisville Veterans Day Event at 100 Town Hall Drive 10 am - 11 pm.
Veterans Day Webinar
Nov 11th 12:30pm Veterans Day Webinar:  Supporting our Veteran Owned Businesses 

Council Member Steve Rao hosts a webinar with special guests, veterans and the North Carolina Veteran Business Association to talk about how we can come together as a state to assist Veteran Business Owners and entrepreneurs!


Streamed Live at https://www.facebook.com/steve.s.rao and Live on Radio Mirchi on 99.9FMHD4, 101.9 FM and 1490 AM
My Weekly Update:
  • For latest Covid 19 information, please dial 2-1-1 or 888- 892-1162.  
  • Get Updates by texting COVIDNC at 898211.    
  • For unemployment insurance, please visit NC Dept of Employment Security at https://des.nc.gov/.    
  • Apply for Wake Forward program at https://covid19.wakegov.com/wakeforward/. 
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 2,859 new COVID-19 cases, the second-highest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic and the third day in a row that more than 2,000 new cases have been reported. In fact, in nine out of the last 10 days, the state has reported more than 2,000 cases, including four days over 2,800 and the single-day record increase of 2,885 cases.

The spike in cases was met with a sharp increase in completed tests--41,049 recorded on Wednesday. The percentage of positive tests similarly dipped from above 7% to 6.6% as of Tuesday.

41 more people have died from COVID-19 in the state, a number trending upward in recent days, though not a key metric for state health officials because deaths is a lagging indicator.

Currently, 1,193 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, with 97% of hospitals reporting. In the last 24 hours, 319 suspected COVID-19 patients have been admitted to hospitals statewide.

CASES:
2,859 New Cases
+ N.C. = 285,661 Cases (Deaths = 4,548)     
+ 6.6 % Positive Rate
+ Wake County = 22,914 Cases (Deaths = 277)
+ US = 9.7 million Cases/235K deaths
+ Worldwide = 46.6 million/1.2 million deaths
+ Completed Tests: 4,214, 454 
+ 1,193 Hospitalizations
Office Hours
Council Member Rao holds office hours on Friday from 12:00-1:00 PM by appointment only at 100 Town Hall Drive in Morrisville. 

For more information or to schedule a time to speak with Council Member Rao, please email SRao@TownofMorrisville.org and copy Town Clerk Eric Smith, esmith@townofmorrisville.org, 463-6150.
Council Member Steve Rao
Town of Morrisville
Dedicated to transforming Morrisville into an ideal place to work and raise a family!
Learn more at: SteveRao.com