Last week, five North Carolina death row inmates filed motions seeking to have their death sentences vacated under North Carolina’s new Racial Justice Act (RJA). These cases will put the new law, which allows death row inmates to use statistics to show that race played a role in their cases, to the test.

more on why FDL should support third party candidates, but mostly the Green Party

Today’s Democratic Senate Primary race in North Carolina is the perfect example of how political candidates this year are suffering for supporting the war in Afghanistan. In 2010, if you’re not in the mainstream on Afghanistan, you’re toast.

Eva Clayton talks about why she’s standing with Ken Lewis.

It is a popular today to say that the South has switched from voting Democratic to Republican. Many people are fond of looking at previous electoral maps. Hey, isn’t that funny – the states have completely switched parties. It’s like the Republicans have recreated the Solid South.

That statement is unequivocally false. Most people have no idea how unbelievably Democratic the Solid South was. For half a century, Democrats in the Deep South did about as well as the Communist Party did in Soviet Union elections.

Democratic County Conventions are being held today all across North Carolina. Unfortunately, despite his super-human capabilities, Ken can’t make it to all of them. He has asked that the following letter be read to convention-goers on his behalf. Read it. Share it. Sure progress has a voice in this year’s election:

Apparently inspired by certain Democrats voting against the health insurance reform, the Service Employees International Union – a union representing over 2 million workers – is surprisingly planning to work against Democrats this election season.

Perhaps the strongest challenge to Democrats, if not the Democratic establishment itself, will be in North Carolina. The national SEIU is working with the State Employees Association of North Carolina, its state affiliate, to form the North Carolina First Party.

Ken Lewis talks about how we can bring about change in 2010, and how we can continue our fight for progress. His message includes a video of special importance to Ken, from Harvey Gantt.

Harvey Gantt Urges Progressives to Support Ken Lewis, Democratic candidate for US Senate from North Carolina, and calls Ken Lewis the best candidate to continue the fight for progress that Gantt began over two decades ago.

After seventeen years, Gregory Taylor was finally freed on February 17th when the three judge panel of the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission unanimously ruled to exonerate him. North Carolina created the commission to investigate and evaluate post-conviction claims of innocence in 2006 and is the first of its kind in the United States. Taylor, wrongfully convicted of first degree murder in 1993, is the first person to be exonerated by the commission.