Most voters don't want political extremes

But what are Democrats doing differently than Republicans that seemingly make their brand misaligned?

They’re not doing anything different.

This is because Republicans are just as misaligned as Democrats. The real reason why this battleground state is constantly in competition is due to unaffiliated voters.

According to a research poll conducted by UNC Chapel Hill, 36% of voters were unaffiliated, which ranked higher than both Democrats and Republicans, with 34% and 30% respectively.

As a senior at High Point University, I have seen the difference in voting outcomes in North Carolina as compared to my home state, New Jersey.

Pew Research Center presented its research on N.J. voter registration and found that 51% are registered Democrats, 30% are registered Republican and only 19% are unaffiliated.

The difference is that N.J. is blue-leaning, not because of “misaligned” Republicans but because of registered party voters.

Unaffiliated North Carolina voters are turned off from extreme conservative or liberal viewpoints with little to no collaboration, and the polarization is apparent.

We must encourage bipartisanship between parties to make the most efficient moral, social and financial decisions to better the state while encouraging unaffiliated voters that there can be collaboration between the two parties.

Riley Manion

High Point