Two new, statewide issues caucuses have formed in the North Carolina Democratic Party!

Two new, statewide issues caucuses have formed in the North Carolina Democratic Party: The Rural Caucus and the Disability Issues Caucus.

​On Wednesday, January 27 at 7:00pm, organizers of the Rural Caucus held a formation meeting to vote on temporary officers and Bylaws. The meeting was a tremendous success: Over 100 Democrats across the entire State of North Carolina attended the meeting, which is a record for any statewide auxiliary formation meeting. After a long three hours, the Bylaws were approved and the following temporary officers were elected: 

Brandon Combs (Person County) - Acting Chair 
Jennifer Thompson (Montgomery County) - 1st Vice Chair
Hon. BJ Gibson (Scotland County) - 2nd Vice Chair
Chris Suggs (Lenoir County) - 3rd Vice Chair
Emily Hogan (Watauga County) - Secretary
Colton Browder (Haywood) - Treasurer

Rural organizing has become a recent focus of the Democratic Party as we collectively look to expand and include more people. In fact, newly elected DNC Chair recently held an open meeting to discuss its importance and to lay out a strategy to achieve success in rural organizing. Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hwsGffMxIM&feature=youtu.be. 

On Saturday, January 30 at 6:00pm, organizers of the Disability Issues Caucus also held a formation meeting to vote on temporary officers and Bylaws. The meeting was an overall success, with over 40 individuals attending the meeting. As a result, the Bylaws were approved and these temporary officers were elected:

Michael Evola - Acting Chair
Kara Hinkley - 1st Vice Chair
Kris Dixon - 2nd Vice Chair
Tia Cheek - Secretary

Both the Rural Caucus and the Disability Issues Caucus now must wait for approval from the NCDP State Executive Committee, which will hold a vote on Saturday, February 27. Following Bylaw approval by the NCDP SEC, each county will then have the opportunity to create its own chartered unit under each statewide caucus. Hopefully, Forsyth County can create its own Rural Caucus and Disability Issues Caucus in the near future!