To give readers an idea of what the Hoke County Republican Party and Hoke County Democratic Party are working on for 2021, The News-Journal sent out some questions to give each Party chair a chance to talk about what they’ve been doing and how people can get involved.

Here, Hoke Republican Party Chairman Hal Nunn and Hoke Democratic Party Chairman Larry Readdy give updates on their Party’s goals for the year, and for the county’s future. We present the following Q&A edited only for formatting.

Hoke Republican Party
Chairman Hal Nunn

What are your party’s goals in 2021?

Our goal is continuing to grow the party and elect more conservative Republican leaders to help Hoke grow smart and Defend America. Reach out into the community and help bridge the gap by showing up and being accounted for. Continue to support Law Enforcement, First Responders, Healthcare Workers, our great Military folks and Teachers. Recruit Young Republicans to help secure our future. We have seen massive growth and participation in the last few years and hopefully that will continue.

What are some things your party is working on?

We are working on MLK Breakfast, Convention in March, recruiting Young Republicans, developing an alternative media source, helping defend the constitution especially first and second amendments. We are working to support our Lt Governor Mark Robinson in getting the Marxist Critical Race Theory standards removed from our public schools and working with Election Oversight folks to better secure our elections.

Are there any events or activities you’d like for people to know about?

We just recently finished a huge House of Raeford Chicken Sale working with Open Door Soup Kitchen and the Rockfish Community Board. We helped deliver 653 cases of chicken to folks last Saturday and donated a good amount to Soup Kitchen and Rockfish Affairs of the Family. We are sponsoring the MLK Breakfast this week at Rockfish Church with Frederick Douglass Foundation and Douglas Leadership Institute, Clarence Henderson. We will be holding our annual convention downtown Raeford March 18 at Wilburn Lofts for registered Republicans and other events throughout the year.

What would your party like to see happen in Hoke County?

We’d like to improve infrastructure and expand the tax base by attracting industry and good paying jobs. We are recruiting conservative minded folks to run for county commissioner, school board and other offices because having different perspectives & experiences on the issues is a good thing. Having more diversity on our boards will meet the needs of our varied population. We would like to open schools and see more school choice in Hoke with a good blend of Public, Private, Charter and Homeschooling. Our elected officials need to take a more leadership role in helping keep our roads clean. We would like to see an alternative media source in Hoke County because competition is good.

If people are interested in getting involved, what should they do/how can they get in touch?

We meet the third Thursday of every month at PK’s Grill Raeford Airport at 7pm. You can find out more info by going to our web sites, www.hokegop.com and www.savehoke.net. We have multiple social media pages including Facebook: Hoke County GOP and have an email hokegop@gmail.com where you can contact us.

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Hoke Democratic Party
Chairman Larry Readdy

What are your party’s goals in 2021?

The Hoke County Democratic Party (HCDP) goals for 2021 are to continue working throughout the community of Raeford and Hoke County symbolizing commitment to our American democracy. We will strive to communicate with the general public the importance of civic engagement.  Our voter registration efforts will focus on increasing the HCDP Democratic Voter Pool at every opportunity. We will be hosting town hall meetings for the purpose of educating the general public on the platform of the North Carolina Democratic Party and the objectives of the HCDP.

As the oldest continuous political party in the world, the Democratic Party continues to evolve in its commitment to freedom, fairness, human rights, equity, and responsible government. The HCDP pledges to continue upholding this tradition.

We take pride in our Democratic heritage as a party of humanitarian and patriotic values; a party of inclusiveness; a party of diversity; a party of compassion; a party of educational and economic opportunities; a party of social justice; and a party of responsible leadership.

Hoke County’s 2020 election cycle exemplified the community’s concern for good government. Our citizens showed an energized voter participation which was realized by a 65 percent turn out rate of the county’s 33,000 registered voters. The Hoke County Democratic Party’s goal is to increase that turn out rate by 10 percent in the 2022 midterm election cycle, and by another 10 percent before the 2024 election cycle. This is ambitious; however, we believe the Hoke County public has awakened to the frailness of our American democracy. The vibrancy of our voters in this past election cycle indicated their willingness to be engaged.

What are some things your party is working on?

The Hoke County Democratic Party (HCDP) is working to increase our public engagement. We are preparing for the 2022 mid-term election cycle by training our executive committee and new volunteers as to our principles and values. In that regard, we will be reorganizing our fifteen (15) precincts recruiting and electing officers at every level. We invite registered Democratic voters to get involved with the activities of your respective precincts, especially during the precinct reorganization period. Precinct reorganization meetings are going to be held virtually utilizing the zoom platform from March 6th through March 26, 2021. We will be providing a schedule for each of the precinct meetings to the News Journal.

We believe that public engagement is going to be crucial in the months ahead.  The HCDP, as a part of the North Carolina Democratic Party, is a party of inclusion that reaches out to all registered voters who subscribe to the principles, values and platform requirements of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

We believe that our principles and goals are more important than personalities or individual political aspirations. We expect registered Democratic candidates and those who have been entrusted with public or party offices as Democrats to set an example of loyalty to the party, to its principles, and to all its nominees. We encourage all Democrats to unite and support the entire ticket in a general election. To that end, we will be recruiting, training, and assisting candidates to run for offices in the 2021 Municipal elections.

Are there any events or activities you’d like for people to know about?

The Hoke County Democratic Party (HCDP) pledges to continue our efforts to involve as many registered voters as possible in Democratic Party affairs and in party decision-making processes. Our efforts include significant outreach and involvement of young people to both strengthen our party and guarantee its future. We will increase our efforts to encourage historically under-represented groups, such as women and minorities, to participate in the party affairs and to seek election to public and party offices. To that end, we will be establishing auxiliaries and caucuses to accommodate the special interest of our voters. These new activities will include a Democratic Women’s Club; a Democratic Men’s Club; a Young and College Democrats Club; an African American Caucus (AAC), an Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus (AAPI), a Native American Caucus (NAC); a Hispanic American Caucus (HAC), and an LGBTQ+. Caucus. We are seeking registered Democrats to come organize and provide leadership for these special interest activities.

What would your party like to see happen in Hoke County?

Unification is what we would like to see happen in Hoke County.

There is a perceived political divide in Hoke County that the HCDP seeks to address as the Big Tent party. Democracy is not a spectator’s sport. The Constitution of the United States of America is our rule and guide. And yes, it is fragile.  It requires active civic engagement, commitment, and dedication of its citizens. Therefore, we the people in order to form a more perfect union; establish justice; ensure domestic tranquility; provide for our common defense; promote the general welfare and secure the Blessings of liberty for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren in Hoke County, we must come together and get involved.

If people are interested in getting involved, what should they do/how can they get in touch?

Registered Democrats and unaffiliates interested in getting involved with the Hoke County Democratic Party (HCDP) can go to the Hoke County Democratic Party Facebook page or contact Chairman Larry Readdy at HokeCDPChair2020@gmail.com.

The Hoke County Democratic Party monthly meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of each month starting at 7:00pm utilizing the zoom platform. We welcome your participation, and we thank you for all you do for democracy. The Leadership listing, Programs and Platform for the North Carolina Democratic Party can be accessed by visiting our website at www.ncdp.org.

Source(s): Hoke County Democratic Party Officials, North Carolina Democratic Party Platform