We ask candidates about 2020 before recommending them

North Carolina’s primary election in 2022 will take place this week a little later than usual some disputes from the election card. Early voting for the NC, which includes state and local races, begins Thursday. There are significant races up and down the ballot, from voters narrowing the field in the race to replace U.S. Senator Richard Berr, to voters Wake and Mecklenburg deciding who will represent them closer to home.

We approach these races – and our recommendations for them – are about the same in the editorial board. Some information: in 2019 The Charlotte Observer and the News & Observer of Raleigh have joined forces to give a more complete and varied content of opinions to our readers. The joint council is chaired by NC Opinion editor Peter St. Ong, who is joined in Charlotte by Observer executive editor Rana Cash, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Kevin Sears and author Paige Masten. In the role, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Ned Barnett is joined by News & Observer Executive Editor Bill Church, McClachie Vice President Robin Tomlin and opinion author Sarah Pequeno.

The News & Observer, which until 2020 did not provide recommendations for primary races in recent history, will do so again this year. Evidence for News & Observer and Observer will include local races in the U.S. House of Representatives, races in the House of Constitution and the Senate, and competitive races in cities and counties. The Joint Council will also issue recommendations at the U.S. Senate primaries.

However, significant changes have taken place since 2020, and because of this we are doing something else.

Republicans across the country, led by their former president, continue to claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. This is a lie, and it threatens the democracy we value. Not all Republicans feel this way, of course, but many will vote for state and national voting measures.

The editorial board believes that you should know what the Republican candidates think about the 2020 elections. So we ask those running for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, NC House and Senate whether Joe Biden is a properly elected president. So far, several people have refused to answer yes, including one running for the U.S. House of Representatives. Tyler Lee, a candidate in the 12th constituency of Congress, said the election was stolen. He, of course, could not offer evidence to support his statement.

Perhaps there are others who are doing the same when we finish interviewing candidates this week. We certainly take many factors into account when doing our support, but we will not recommend any candidate involved in the dangerous lie that the election was stolen.

As always, we will be selective in our recommendations, which means we will give recommendations in competitive and notable races, but not in all races. In every race we run, members of the editorial board conduct research and interviews with candidates, as well as talk to others who know the candidates and have worked with them. We will then discuss what we have learned as advice and make recommendations.

As in editorials on local issues, Charlotte council members are not involved in approving triangle races, and vice versa. Also, as always, Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer reporters are not involved in our recommendations. (But you have to study the thorough reporting in Roles and Charlotte handbooks for editorial voters.)

Another thing we don’t do is tell you how to vote. Our editorial office is one of the many voices in the conversations of our communities every day, and the same with elections. When we give racing recommendations, we give you more information and perspectives, but we hope and expect readers to make their own choices. And if you choose “who will not be supported by the editors” – as we hear every election – it’s also normal!

Starting this week, we will share with you our recommendations. As always, our strongest recommendation is: please go vote.