The One We Need!

Marcia Morgan: They say the Governor, but his strategists, have identified four seats in the House and one in the Senate that they really need. And this is the one in the Senate that they really need.

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JD Wooten: Welcome to Carolina Democracy. I’m JD Wooten, and today we’ve got a great line up of things to talk about before another excellent candidate interview. We’ve got certified results from the July elections, progress from the U.S. Senate on major initiatives and 2020 campaign promises, a win for the international fight against terrorism, and then some thoughts on disinformation and ways we can push back, before turning to my interview with Marcia Morgan, who is running to represent District 7, New Hanover County, in the North Carolina Senate. Overall, lots of great news and things to be excited about today.

So first, most if not all the election results around North Carolina from the July 26th election are official and certified. In my hometown of Greensboro, Mayor Nancy Vaughan held on to her seat by the slimmest of margins against challenger Justin Outling, the current District 3 council member. Incumbents prevailed on the rest of the City Council as well, and while the closeness of the mayor’s race might suggest that many want to see some kind of change in the direction of the city, that sentiment is far from strong enough to actually unseat anyone. The only new face on the council will be Zack Matheny who ran for the District 3 seat being vacated by Outling since he ran for mayor.

In national news, Democrats in the U.S. Senate finally have a budget reconciliation plan that implements a massive amount of President Biden’s agenda, including an enormous increase in spending on energy and climate change, deficit reduction measures, several years of Affordable Care Act subsidies, prescription drug reform to lower prices, and tax reform. As of this recording, the Senate had taken the initial vote to advance the legislation and it fell exactly along party lines with a 51-50 vote with Vice President Harris breaking the tie. By the time you listen to this, it may very well have passed the Senate.

This also came shortly after the Senate passed a $280 billion bipartisan industrial policy bill that included $52 billion in subsidies to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law early this week. While perhaps not as sexy as the Inflation Reduction Act formerly known as Build Back Better, and short aside – remember when Senator Michael Garrett told us about renaming a proposed bill in hopes that Senate Republicans would buy into it, but the strategy didn’t work? Turns out that strategy might not have been quite the longshot it sounded like anymore – anyways, back to the forthcoming Chips and Science Act, this is a tremendous step in the right direction of freeing the U.S. tech economy from Asian manufacturers, especially China. Given the importance of semiconductors to just about everything in our lives today, from smart phones, to cars, to national security, this is huge for protecting the U.S. economy and further bolstering national security interests.

Last week, we also got Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 who helped plan the USS Cole bombing and the 9/11 attacks. Evidently, he had been hiding in Pakistan for decades and finally thought it was safe to head back to Afghanistan now that the U.S. military had withdrawn. Two important takeaways here – we still have significant military capabilities in and around the area despite the on-the-ground withdraw, and if this guy thought it was safe to return to Afghanistan, it’s a worrisome indicator that seems to confirm a lot of fears about what we can expect from the Taliban and their tolerance for terrorist activity moving forward.

Now, with all that good news, will the sentiments towards Democrats change heading into the election? They certainly should, but now it’ll be up to Democratic candidates to really sell the shit out of Democratic accomplishments and convince voters that whatever their feelings are about the current economic climate or a host of issues, Democrats will be better at solving those problems. That’s no small task to be sure. Recent research from a bipartisan, centrist think tank called Center Forward studied polling on likely 2022 voters from 14 battleground states, including North Carolina, and summed all their work up with the following: “Election 2022 will hinge on which party is able to show they are taking meaningful action to stabilize the economy, lower inflation costs (housing, gas, and food), reduce gun violence and protect a woman’s right to choose.” So there you go, the secret to winning 2022, no big deal. 

Recent legislative successes will go a long way to supporting that narrative for Democrats, but candidates will still inevitably face a barrage of misinformation and disinformation at every level to sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the minds of voters. We saw the lengths to which North Carolina Republican operatives would go in 2020 when they fabricated and spread false and malicious criminal conspiracy theories against numerous legislative candidates across North Carolina. Three state senate candidates alone that immediately come to mind were Allen Wellons, Donna Lake, and yours truly. What did we all have in common? We were running in competitive districts in a year that was shaping up to favor Democrats, or so everyone thought. And with no popular policies to run on, and running against candidates not particularly susceptible to other propaganda given our past records, the candidates in those races turned to the next trick – sow doubt and uncertainty.

Its classic disinformation at work. It doesn’t really matter if the accusations are true or even stick, all they need is to sow enough doubt to make voters question whether to vote at all, or give in to the cynicism that all political candidates are crooks, so there’s no difference between them. If the party in power can convince disaffected voters to stay home or that there’s no difference between the candidates, the candidate from the party in power generally prevails, especially when the maps are already heavily gerrymandered in their favor. It’s a simple but ruthlessly effective strategy that’s as old as voting. And for anyone out there that wants to play the “But Democrats use to X, Y, or Z” game of rationalizing today’s misdeeds, cry me a river. Were they wrong then? Probably, but I wasn’t alive for most of what you’re whining about and I certainly wasn’t old enough to do anything about it. Are you wrong today? Absolutely. And if the parties unexpectedly flip flopped and Democrats became the pro-authoritarian fascists and Republicans became pro-democracy, well you bet I’d change my party registration.

Now you may think JD, why are you rehashing 2020 and going on a rant about disinformation? My point is to highlight a strategy we see repeatedly from the modern GOP, especially in highly competitive districts that will either make or break the Governor’s veto or make or break which party is in the majority. In 2020, we had good candidates running in competitive districts. Even for a young candidate like me, without nearly the track record of public services as former State Senator Allen Wellons or retired Air Force Colonel Donna Lake, well, I’m an Eagle Scout and Air Force veteran without any major mistakes to go after on my record. Their only play left was to fabricate something juicy. And I mention all this particularly today because our guest, Marcia Morgan is a retired Army Colonel running in one of the most competitive and critical state senate districts this year. One of the best and easiest things we can do to help her, aside from the obvious things like donating or volunteering, is to help her spread her message and get the truth out there.

We’ve also got to break down the tribalism that leaves people supporting one party or the other despite harmful policies and misdeeds. When we separate out the policies from the parties, we get stunning surprises, like ultra-conservative Kansas voting to protect women’s reproductive health and the constitutionality of abortion. Or Florida raising the minimum wage to $15/hr over a period of a few years while also voting for Donald Trump on the same day. And to me, a big part of that is fighting misinformation and disinformation, which is at the heart of why I started this podcast. And here’s my ask for this community we’re building with Carolina Democracy -- our efforts to get the truth about pro-democracy candidates out into the world for voters and supporters to see and hear relies on you helping spread the message. We’re creating the content and spreading it as far as we can, but we need you, in your local communities and in your friend group or coalition of supporters to spread it more. And the best part – there’s no cost or downside to you, and a ton of benefit for the candidates you support.

So please share this episode, and any other you like, to help our guests reach the largest audience possible. And if you prefer to share video or only the interview and not me rambling on for the first few minutes, I’ve got you covered – head on over to our YouTube channel and find the interviews you like there to share with friends and fellow supporters.

Ok, thanks for bearing with me, and here’s my interview with Marcia Morgan.

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JD Wooten: With me today is Marcia Morgan of New Hanover County, a former educator and retired Army Colonel, who is running to represent District 7 in North Carolina Senate. Welcome Marcia. 

Marcia Morgan: Good morning. Thank you for having me. 

JD Wooten: You bet. My pleasure. So first question right out the gate. What's your earliest memory of politics or getting involved in politics?

Marcia Morgan: I never had any plan of being involved in politics. It was never any interest to me. I am in addition to everything else an introvert and a very private person. So this, this never appealed in any way, shape or form. So I guess first thought of it was in 2018, 2016.

JD Wooten: It actually sort of surprised me the number of people that I have gotten to know over my time dabbling in politics that end up being candidates, but identify as introverts in their private life. Believe it or not, I count myself among them, so. Well, let's start with your background. I understand you're the youngest of four kids raised by an incredibly strong mother who was a librarian and a school administrator. Can you tell us a little about those early days and maybe some of those early experiences that shaped your political philosophy today?

Marcia Morgan: Sure, part of the story is also that my father passed away when I was two. So she was left to raise four kids and at the time women didn't work outside the home really, other than in the education profession. And I talk about her, I describe her as being tougher than woodpecker lips, because that's kind of how she was, and that's pretty much how she raised me. Some of the things that I guess I would say influenced my political positions today, and one that's at the forefront right now, is the issue of abortion. When my mother was growing up, the custom then was that young women couldn't have apartments of their own. So they lived with families, they would rent a room somewhere. And when my mother was in high school, she became friends with the woman who was living with them. And they went in one day to find the woman had bled out from a botched abortion. So from that point on, she was adamant that abortions had to be legal and safe. And we were just, we were raised that way so that, that's, like I said, that's kind of front and center right now. Obviously the importance of a good education because of the situation that we were in, and that she found herself in. She was adamant that her daughters would be able to take care of themselves, that they would get an education, that they didn't have to depend on anyone else. So the, the advantages of that education were very critical. And I don't know how much this fits in, but I didn't realize at the time we were very poor, to the extent of having the heat turned off the coldest day of the winter, and kind of discovering some of the things about that. And in essence, good people can be in bad situations.

JD Wooten: Wow, gut wrenching stories. But so those experiences then led you to a pretty early start as an educator, as I understand. And you spent several summers as an undergrad working with the then fledgling Head Start Program. How were those experiences? 

Marcia Morgan: Yes, that's correct. The Head Start was just getting started. And so I was in it the first couple of years that they were in business. And I have to say that was an amazing experience. The schools in Texas hadn't integrated yet, they were among the last, surprisingly, they were among the last to do that. I was put the first year I was put in a classroom of all Black students. They wanted to see how the children reacted to a white teacher or assistant teacher. I have to say I had more fun that year than ever. The, the kids were so lively and their emotions weren't suppressed. They, they weren't controlled in any way. They were just free and exuberant and, and that was really amazing. And the second year I was placed in a Hispanic classroom. And that was a, again, a very different experience because I did not speak Spanish. But they were we also, at that time had to go into the homes and ask a lot of very personal questions at a very young age I think. I had the experience of seeing how, how those people were living with multiple families in the same households, some of the experiences that they were going through just trying to survive. So a lot of, a lot of experiences with people, and society when I was getting started. 

JD Wooten: Well, it sounds like all the way from your earliest memories and even those of, of what your mother shared with you about her memories that unfortunately some of, some of these challenges are still very, very real challenges for people here in North Carolina and across our, both our state and country right now.

Marcia Morgan: Absolutely. 

JD Wooten: So now, after you'd already managed to earn a PhD and spent several years teaching at the collegiate level, you decided to join the U.S. Army. What led to that decision? 

Marcia Morgan: The, the first part of that decision was leaving education. I was on the graduate faculty at Smith College and took the unpopular position of supporting a lot of student rights. I didn't realize that I was a liberal until I got there. I thought I was fairly conservative and I found out I was a flaming ass liberal. So that, that was an education. I also pointed out to them that the graduate program that I was responsible for was not a high quality program and suggested that there were ways that they could modify it so that it could become a quality degree. They kind of twitched at the thought of changing and said, fine, we'll do away with the program. And then we don't have to renew your contract. So that's the first part of that decision was the, the leaving of education. I thought I would be going back into teaching. I was raised as teacher. I still feel like I'm a teacher. But because my degree is and was at that time fairly unique, there were only two positions in the country that opened that year. And I was in a catch-22. They wouldn't hire me at graduate faculty because I didn't have the number of years teaching experience required. And they wouldn't hire me at a lesser rank because that was a school policy. So I had to find a, another approach and, and I call it a two by four moment with God that I won't go into. But in essence, I was going to the cleaners one day. And they weren't open yet. And the recruiting office was next door and said, come in and see what job opportunities we have for women. And through a series of conversations with God, I came to the decision that this was the direction I was supposed to take. I knew nothing about the military, so I wound up enlisting and that was also a very valuable experience for me. 

JD Wooten: Well, I having spent my entire life in or around the military, I do find that there's at least a little irony in your story that your, your push for change at a university and decision to leave then led to joining the United States military, but also the value of how that ends up working out. Now I'm still surprised every day, by just how important some of the lessons I learned along the way in the military were that still help me to this day. I'm sure you have countless such experiences, but what are a few of the more memorable lessons from your time in uniform that stick with you today?

Marcia Morgan: I think some of them and, and I'll go back, as I said, started out enlisted, was valuing the position of everyone. And treating everyone with respect no matter where they are in the continuum. I very much believed that I had the success I did in the military because I had great NCOs working for me. And my position was, they knew their jobs. All I needed to do was give them the resources and tell them what needed to be done and let them go do it, and try not to put unnecessary challenges on them. I also learned to evaluate an individual's skills and match them to the jobs that needed to be done. So I, I think that was another management learning experience. Particularly then when I was in the Pentagon and the positions that I had there were supporting very high level officers. The first one was the senior logistics officer of the Army. And then my last year was in support of the Chief of Staff of the Army. And I, I saw how decisions were made at a very high level. And I saw all of the intricacies that went into it. Things like we needed to close a range because environmental species, a Red-cockaded Woodpecker was there. And that the Army, as big as it was, would take into consideration environmental issues. And that again, made a big impression on me. And probably one of the more interesting lessons was that I learned that I could disobey direct orders and survive.

JD Wooten: I identify with so much of everything you just said. I had now in my, my career, I was in defense acquisitions, which is just chock-full of contractors, but those contractors are predominantly prior military, at least in the Air force acquisitions core. And one of the contractors that worked for me was also a retired E-6. He had made E-7 multiple times and for various administrative reasons been reduced back down to E-6 where he finally retired. But if it hadn't been for him I would not have, you know, he, he basically acted like my, my sergeant when I was a Lieutenant. And without him, I would not have, have survived the first couple years being an LT. Now I could spend this whole episode talking about your military career, that said we have some important and work to do here in North Carolina. So let's shift gears to politics and the current climate. You decided to jump into politics with a run for the North Carolina House in 2018, over in District 19, and came remarkably close. What led you to run in 2018 and get involved in the process then? 

Marcia Morgan: As I mentioned earlier, I first probably started paying attention to politics when it was the, the Clinton and Trump race. From the military, you're, you're taught you're apolitical. You don't go one side or the other. And so I had spent 25 years doing that. But I finally, with that campaign just believed so strongly that she was absolutely the better candidate in that he was a huge mistake that I, I did. That was the first time I'd ever knocked on doors or, or done anything. As we transitioned to 2018, the person who was the incumbent in District 19 was running unopposed. And I felt that no one should have that opportunity. That they should have to I guess stand up to the people and fight for their job. So that's how I wound up doing that the first time.

JD Wooten: I couldn't agree more. If there's no one else to vote for, and there's only one choice on the ballot, it's not really a functioning democracy in my opinion. So thank you for doing that. Now I've recently been asking all candidates up front about the economy, because that seems to be the number one issue on most people's mind. And I haven't seen anything recently to change that, even though certain indicators like the price that the gas pump are getting better. So what would be your first priority after taking office to help everyday north Carolinians in the current economic climate? 

Marcia Morgan: The first thing I would like to do is take a look at the tax structure. My personal belief is that the corporations and the wealthier individuals are not contributing their fair share and that the workers in the middle class and lower class are carrying a lot of things on their back. And that that is not a fair distribution of wealth. So I would wanna take a look at that and see how we could make some changes there, and raise the funds to be able to pay for the programs that we need to help those who are struggling.

JD Wooten: Where do you see what you're talking about, that vision, and this march for the last decade or so that we seem to have been doing towards lower and lower corporate income tax rates here in North Carolina?

Marcia Morgan: And that's what concerns me. I think we need to go the other direction. They are clearly making profits. And I know that this is on a, a national level, but when you look at the hundreds of millions of dollars that the gas companies are making with raised prices, rather than take a stand of let's do something to help the economy we'll, we'll cut our profits in order to help people out. They're not doing that. They're being greedy. And I, I believe that they are very able to pay higher taxes without hurting their, their business. Their business will still survive. I also, and along with that, like I said, the upper echelon of the earners are able to pay more in taxes. And I know I'm fortunate enough to be in a position that I can pay taxes. And I believe that I should, and I believe that I should be paying more than people who are not in the position that I'm in. So 

JD Wooten: That sounds like Warren Buffet. 

Marcia Morgan: Yes. Yes. 

JD Wooten: I heard him say, of course I should be paying more taxes. And I don't think that that's a penalty because it's, it's because of the American system that I've been able to be so prosperous and successful. So I should be paying my fair share back into it. 

Marcia Morgan: And I know people ask me, I don't have children and they say, why, why are you so in favor of using our tax money for schools? Honestly, you, you, you can't be serious? The schools are where our children are taught and that's our future. We have to make sure that they have the adequate resources to, from selfish perspective, to take care of me when I'm old, but that's where the future of our country is, is always in our youth. And, and that we have to make sure that they have what they need to be successful. 

JD Wooten: Well, then I'm gonna shift gears real quick on that just because you've, you've opened the hanger doors, as we used to say in the Air Force. Our state courts have consistently held for years that the state is underfunding public education and we've also seen an increase in the amount our funding is being diverted to charter schools at the same time. So as someone who began her professional career in the classroom, and then also grew up with a mother who was an educator and administrator, what are your thoughts on the current state of North Carolina's educational system and what we need to be doing about that?

Marcia Morgan: First of all, since our Constitution directs us to provide a, a public education for all of the student, we need to do that. We need to adhere to what our constitution tells us to do. The first step to me would be to fund the Leandro study. We need to look at not only bringing the pay scale of our teachers, administrators, of everyone involved in the system up to, and I will say at least the average. I think it should be more than that, but we need to bring it up to at least the average. We also need to let them know we respect them. Right now, that's a lot of teachers just don't feel that anybody gives them credit for what they do or gives them, as I said, gives them that respect. I think there are ways that we can do this by recognizing the quality performances by recognizing the importance of teachers in an everyday life.

JD Wooten: One point I'd like to clarify with you, you mentioned bringing teacher pay up to the averages and I wholeheartedly agree regardless of what your answer is on the, this next question. But when you say averages, I've, I've heard a lot of people talk about two different sort of ways to measure it. And I'm just curious which way you would lean? There are the National Educator Association kind of rankings of state by state. You know, where does North Carolina rank for teacher pay as compared to other states on teacher pay? But I also have seen, and this doesn't seem to get talked about as much, but full disclosure, I'm a big proponent of this way of thinking. We don't seem to lose teachers to other states so often as we lose them to the private sector across the street. And so when I hear average teacher pay, I think, well, what are you paying a comparably educated and comparably qualified individual elsewhere in that same community? So somebody five years out from their undergrad with an undergraduate degree or 10 years out with a master's degree. Out of curiosity, which kind of those measures do you tend to lean more towards? 

Marcia Morgan: I would lean more toward the second one. And I think also when you're talking about what is the average pay that it needs to be qualified in terms of, are we talking about New York or Alabama? What's the average cost of living and what's the teacher pay with respect to that average cost of living. And that kind of, I think, blends into what you're saying with what does the person in, in industry, or in some other profession with comparable education, what are they earning? So I agree, we need to make it where a teacher can earn a decent living and they don't have to work two and three jobs just to survive.

JD Wooten: Yeah, and unfortunately, that's been something that I've seen in North Carolina for a long time. Now I do wanna shift gears to another area that I know is near and dear to the heart of many people out on the coast, especially Wilmington being out at the end of the Cape Fear River Basin. You're the first candidate I've had from the North Carolina coast on, so I recognize that y'all have probably all the same environmental concerns the rest of us do, plus your own host of issues that are sort of unique to y'all, especially being at the end of the the, the Cape Fear River. So what are some of those environmental challenges that the people of New Hanover are facing and what do we need to be doing to address those things?

Marcia Morgan: The one that's probably gained the most attention is that we are down river from Chemours, which has been flushing their chemicals into the river, GenX, PFAS, things that are very detrimental to human health and a number of ways that that can be spread. In terms of addressing that and other industrial issues, I believe that our DEQ, environmental quality folks, need to be given stronger legislation to address the issues. They need to be given more positions so that they can do the inspections necessary. And when there are violations, the violations need to be addressed with fines. And, and not just kind of, well, let's just slap on the wrist. It, it needs to be direct and it needs to be enough that it gets their attention. We also one of, I think it's not unique here, but the, the CAFOs, the, the feeding, particularly for us, it's the, the pigs, the hogs. And the effluent from those is supposed to go into a, a holding tank. And then they spray it across the field. That needs to be done in a way that it doesn't run off into the, into the river, into the waterways. That when there's a hurricane or a major flood, those don't, again, wash away. We've had instances where the animals themselves were drowned and floating down the river. This is unacceptable. It's also unacceptable that they're spraying this effluent on into the air and it goes into the neighbor's houses and that they can't get away from the stench. They can't get away from the filth that's on the side of their house. They can't open their windows to get fresh air. So two points. The holding tanks need to be created in such a way that they are not subject to the flooding issues. Second part is the way that they deal with that effluent. There are other means other than spraying it across the field that are just as effective, they are more expensive, but it's better for the environment. So if other states in the south can figure out that there's a better way to do this, we can too. The other thing that's unique to us is our beach erosion. Right now, every year we're hoping we get money from the state, from the Core of Engineers to replace the, the sands that are washed away. I think we need to take a look at studying are there other means of reducing the beach erosion? Are there other ways to address it? To try and look at new ways of doing things, not just stick with the old ways. The other thing I would like to have happen here and it's under discussion is offshore wind. I know they've talked about offshore drilling, absolutely opposed to that. It's not, it's just a matter of time. It's not, if it's gonna be a leak, it's when it's gonna be a leak. The, and I, and I like to say if, if wind turbine falls over it, doesn't pollute our beaches. So I'm I think that that's one of the things that we can do to increase our moving away from fossil fuels. And that's something that, again, it could be across the state, but in particular could be here at, at the beach where they would be put two miles out. And it's, to me, that's not an eye sore. 

JD Wooten: Yes, ma'am, certainly some unique issues that y'all have out that way. So, shifting gears for a moment to one last area that I wanted to cover. And I wanted to kind of end on this one, cause it's a positive note. CNBC recently ranked North Carolina as number one state for business. And one of their big things was they cited the major economic investment as well as bipartisanship between lawmakers on the economy. What do you think are the most important ways we can work to maintain that business friendly environment moving forward, and to have that business friendly environment, the, you know, the positive impacts of that felt for everyone across North Carolina?

Marcia Morgan: I think that first of all, one of the things that we need to look at is what are the industries we're bringing into the state and make sure that they are ones that are in line with our, our own concerns and issues. So I would not wanna bring a major polluter into the state. For other industries, I am in support of various enticements. Was very disappointed when the film industry lost their advantage, and that really impacted Wilmington, that so many of the, the people moved to Georgia. And we lost a, a huge economic element and a skill set moved away because they couldn't afford to stay here. So that the subsidies, I think are probably part of the enticement. Unfortunately, part of the enticement is the low taxes and I already said, I think they should be raised. So that that's kind of a negative about that. I think we can find a happy medium where it's still a good place to live and work. One of, and I'm gonna go off on a little bit of a tangent. I believe that one of the things that attracts major companies is what is the working place like? What are the humanitarian issues? Are we an LGBT friendly state? Do we have equal rights? Because if they're gonna bring their workforce here, they need to make sure that their workforce is protected. So I think that part of that enticement of companies to come here is that we have adequate protections for their workers, that we have adequate protections for various minorities and the things that they should be caring about as major corporations. 

JD Wooten: So anything else we've missed from the campaign platform or policy issues, perspectives that you wanna highlight for our listeners? 

Marcia Morgan: One of the things that does concern me is at this point with the current makeup of the legislature, it doesn't really matter much what my policy concerns are or what I'm for or what I want to do. They'll be shot down. What does matter is protecting Governor Cooper's veto power. This seat is one that is very flippable and it's one that will help strengthen and protect that veto power. So I think that probably the, the greatest reason for me right now, the greatest need is to win this race, flip that seat, and make sure that Governor Cooper is able to continue vetoing the laws that are not so friendly.

JD Wooten: I haven't looked at the numbers recently, but I know that the New Hanover Senate District has historically been on the very short list of districts that quite frankly, even though we don't have it at the moment, there's just not, especially with the way that new maps are drawn, there's not a whole lot of room for us protecting Governor Cooper's veto without that district. And there's just no conceivable path in my mind to taking the majority in the State Senate without that district. Is that still roughly accurate? 

Marcia Morgan: Well, that's what they told me. You know, that might be, well, I'm gonna tell all the girls that, you know, but that his strategists, they say the Governor, but his strategists, have identified four seats in the House and one in the Senate that they really need. And this is the one in the Senate that they really need. So, so yes, that's still a factor. 

JD Wooten: I mean, hey, if we've got it from the Governor's key strategists, then let's shift to the most important question of the day. Where can people go to learn more about you, your campaign, sign up to volunteer, donate, and so forth?

Marcia Morgan: Thank you for asking. At marciamorganforncsenate.com. And the first name is spelled Marcia. I know it's kind of long, but hopefully when you start typing it in, it will come up. So again, that's marciamorganforncsenate.com. 

JD Wooten: Well, we'll make sure to leave a link so that it's a one click venture for all of our listeners. Marcia, thank you so much for joining me today, it's been a real pleasure.

Marcia Morgan: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

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JD Wooten: Thanks again to Marcia Morgan for joining us today, and to everyone for listening. Links are in the show notes for everything from today’s episode. If you have questions or comments, send me an email at jd@carolinademocracy.com. And again, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and share this episode with a friend. Together, we can achieve a better North Carolina for everyone!