Former U.S. Congressman G.K. Butterfield testified that his electoral performance significantly declined in predominantly white precincts compared to Black precincts during his campaigns representing northeastern North Carolina counties in Washington.
Similarly, State House Democratic leader Robert Reives recounted how campaign mail targeting him in a recent election contained both “dog whistle” and overt racial messaging.
Moses Matthews, a former Martin County school board member, asserted that a Black candidate could not win a school board district seat unless the district had a substantial Black population.
“History doesn’t show that’s possible,” Matthews stated.
