North Carolina COS volunteers again in 2024 spent countless hours to campaign for pro-COS candidates.
Our effort in this election cycle was built on the success and experience we gained in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, and shows that COS volunteers in North Carolina are committed to supporting constitutional conservatives.
With more than 100,000 supporters, we are one of the most politically influential grassroots organizations in North Carolina. And state legislators should take note: we are here to stay.
Why? Because COS volunteers are concerned for our country and the legacy we are leaving for future generations. Now we expect our legislators to use the power granted to them by our Founders in Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
The COS resolution, HJR 235, passed in the North Carolina House in March 2023. The Senate still has the opportunity to pass this resolution before the end of 2024, making North Carolina the 20th state to do so. It is their opportunity to help bring power back to the states where it belongs, and protect our federal republican form of government.
Some may think that the election of Donald Trump solves our problems related to federal government overreach. It does not.
Our effort transcends any one election cycle. An Article V convention can be convened after 34 states pass the resolution. The convention can propose amendments on term limits for federal officials, impose fiscal restraints and reduce the power and scope of the federal government. It is one additional tool the founders gave us to check the power of the federal government.
Campaigning for pro-COS candidates is an important part of our strategy. Since the 2020 election cycle, we have campaigned for a total of 92 House and Senate candidates. Of those campaigns, 69 won for an overall success rate over the last three election cycles of 75%. We have over that time completed +220,000 individual voter interactions and participated in several very close races over that time. All with volunteers.
As a non-partisan, 501C4 organization, there are strict legal limits on how we can campaign including the fact that we cannot coordinate with the candidates. We pick what campaigns we work on based on where we think we can make a difference, primarily based on the Civitas Partisan Index and races where we have the grassroots resources to mount the campaign. We only campaign for state house and senate candidates who have publicly supported COS. While we try to work for as many campaigns as we can, there are obviously practical limits.
In the 2024 election cycle, our focus was on House races. The North Carolina House has consistently supported the COS resolution, passing it both in the 2021/2022 legislative session and in the current session.
Let’s take a look at what was accomplished in 2024. First in the primaries:
- In total, we campaigned for 16 candidates, 14 in the House and 2 in the Senate.
- In the House, 12 won for a success rate of 88%. In the Senate, 2 won for a success rate of 100%.
- We made 486 phone calls to low propensity voters.
- We sent 15,769 texts to low propensity voters.
- 6,270 emails and 7,489 texts were sent to COS supporters encouraging them to support the candidates.
And in the general election just completed:
- In total, we campaigned for 18 candidates, 12 in the House and 6 in the Senate.
- In the House, 10 won for a success rate of 83%. In the Senate, 4 won for a success rate of 67%.
- One candidate we supported, Tricia Cotham in HD105, won by 215 votes so our effort could have been a key factor in her success.
- In addition to Tricia Cotham in HD105, we participated in two other key races that according to the Carolina Journal were targeted by the left, including Allen Chesser in HD25 and Bill Ward in HD5.
- We supported one Senate candidate, Kristie Sluder, who was a former COS District Captain and ran in SD49. While she did not win, this represents a key mission of COS: to encourage and train grassroots activists.
- We knocked on 404 doors for two key races including Erin Pare in HD37 and Tricia Cotham in HD105.
- We made 1,067 phone calls to low propensity voters in the House races.
- We sent 35,672 texts to low propensity voters in the House races.
- 11,068 emails and 7,804 texts were sent to COS supporters encouraging them to support the candidates in all races.
What’s next? Now that the election is behind us, we will be watching closely to see if the Senate acts on HJR 235 before the end of this legislative session. That will determine our legislative and campaign strategy for the 2025/2026 session.
If you want to help, sign the petition then become a volunteer. As John Q. Adams famously said: “Duty is ours, results are God’s”.
Jeff Groh resides in western North Carolina and is a small business owner. He is also a Regional Captain for Convention of States Project, a non-partisan effort to rein in the expanding role of the federal government.
