Algenon Cash

Full tank of premium gas — $100 Groceries — $103 Drive time — 6 hours total Spending a day with her & roommates — PRICELESS Hands down today has been my favorite day of the entire summer. My daughter transitioned to a new apartment as she enters her junior year at the illustrious @EastCarolina 💜 #LOCKEDIN

I watched President Trump’s 60 Minutes interview and thought most of it was pretty good. But his comments about immigration particularly caught my attention. We witnessed something rather unusual: Donald Trump seemingly recalibrating his policy position in real time. The president acknowledged that his administration’s deportation policies may have gone too far, particularly when it comes to undocumented immigrants who have lived and worked in America for years. He even expressed an interest in negotiating an immigration agreement with Democrats. I, for one, agree with the president’s more moderate position. It’s hardly a radical departure from traditional Republican thinking. Ronald Reagan supported legalization alongside stronger enforcement, and George W. Bush advocated comprehensive immigration reform that recognized the practical and economic realities of millions of undocumented workers already living in America. But I’m particularly interested in how Trump’s political base might respond. For years, some of his most vocal supporters have demanded the removal of every undocumented immigrant, regardless of employment, family ties or how long they’ve lived in this country. That position has become central to the political identity of a significant faction of the MAGA movement. What happens if the president now embraces a more pragmatic approach? It’s much too early to know whether his comments represent a genuine change in policy or simply a political recalibration following last week’s devastating Republican losses. But perhaps Trump recognizes that governing in the new Congress will require something he has generally resisted: meaningful compromise with Democrats. The larger question is whether his supporters are prepared to follow him there.

Even @NCDemParty were stunned. NC Rep. Amber Baker expected @NCHouseDems to gain seats on Election Day, but not to reclaim the House after 16 years and leave @MyNCSenate with a razor-thin majority. What happens next in Raleigh? Full episode with Baker and @mitchkokai now on YouTube. youtu.be/BEUePsv_3AA?is=Osij… Two ways to listen to Locked In with Algenon Cash: 🎙️ New episode online SUNDAY — available on @TriadPodcast, @YouTube, @ApplePodcasts and @Spotify. 📻 Sunday morning at 7:30 AM on @wtob980.

Donald Trump spent years demanding loyalty from the Republican Party, but did his leadership ultimately fracture the very coalition @Republicans needed to win? On Locked In, North Carolina State Representative Amber M Baker examines how the divisions Trump created within his own party contributed, in her view, to the devastating Republican losses on Election Day. @TheDemocrats captured both chambers of Congress, flipped congressional districts in traditionally Republican territory, and delivered significant defeats to GOP incumbents here in North Carolina. But the larger question extends beyond Tuesday’s election. What happens when a political party becomes so consumed with defending one individual that it begins alienating voters who once considered themselves part of its natural coalition? And perhaps more importantly, can Republicans rebuild without first confronting the divisions within their own party? Representative Baker joins @mitchkokai of the @JohnLockeNC for a wide-ranging conversation about the 2026 midterms, North Carolina’s changing political landscape, and what comes next for both parties. Watch the full conversation Sunday on Locked In with Algenon Cash.

If this post made you think differently, you’ll probably enjoy the conversations we have each week on Locked In with Algenon Cash. 🎙️ Subscribe | podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…

I knew Donald Trump wasn’t going to go quietly into the night. He’s gearing up for a fight. Just three days after @Republicans suffered a historic electoral defeat, Trump is replacing White House Chief of Staff @SusieWiles with Stephen Miller, one of the most aggressive architects of his administration’s policies. Think about what this signals. The American electorate just delivered a sweeping rejection of Republican candidates across the country. Yet Trump’s response is to elevate one of the most confrontational figures in his administration. This doesn’t look like a president preparing to moderate his agenda or negotiate with a newly empowered Democratic Congress. It looks like a president preparing for political warfare. And if anyone thought Tuesday’s election would persuade him to retreat quietly, today’s announcement should give them serious reason to reconsider. nbcnews.com/politics/donald-…

Ask God what this moment is teaching you about yourself. #LOCKEDIN

This one hits close to home. High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson has defeated Republican Congressman @Addison_McD, flipping North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District. I’ve had Cyril on Locked In twice over the past several months. Our conversations weren’t campaign speeches. We explored his vision for Congress, the challenges facing North Carolina, federal spending, tariffs, housing, healthcare and whether he could earn the trust of voters beyond his own political party. Five months ago, we were asking whether a Democrat could win this district. Tonight, we have our answer. Congratulations to Cyril Jefferson on a remarkable victory. I appreciate his willingness to sit down for two substantive conversations and answer difficult questions about the job he was asking voters to give him. Now comes the responsibility of governing. youtu.be/TQxYu-41Nxc?is=22ZT…

We’re witnessing further evidence of a monumental shift in American politics, and I don’t think most people have fully grasped the magnitude of what’s happening. When I was just cutting my teeth in politics roughly two decades ago, I participated in the resurgence of the conservative movement. The Republican Party was the primary vehicle through which we advanced our message, principles and vision for America. I had the privilege of being mentored by strong Black conservatives such as @MichaelSteele. I followed the writings of @ThomasSowell, studied the leadership of Colin Powell and marveled at the extraordinary knowledge of @CondoleezzaRice. These were people who helped shape my understanding of conservatism, public service and the responsibility that comes with political leadership. And conservatism was a powerful political force in those days. @Republicans didn’t simply compete for control of Washington. They built an extraordinary political infrastructure across America, eventually dominating state legislatures and governors’ mansions throughout the country. Consider something remarkable. When @realDonaldTrump first won the presidency in 2016, Republicans controlled 31 governors’ mansions. Following that election, their number increased to 33. Ten years later, Democrats have now secured at least 30 governorships. For the first time in 16 years, Democrats will hold a majority of America’s governors’ mansions. But the real story goes much deeper. According to @axios, @TheDemocrats are positioned to control 51 of the nation’s 99 state legislative chambers. They’re also on track to hold complete control of 22 state governments, compared with just 18 for Republicans. If the current results hold, approximately 75% of Americans will live in states governed by Democrats. Think about that massive transformation. The political infrastructure Republicans spent decades constructing has undergone a dramatic reversal in a single election cycle. And much of that transformation occurred in states that Republicans once considered reliably conservative. While everyone is focused on Democrats capturing Congress and the extraordinary Senate victories, I believe the restructuring of state governments may prove even more consequential. Governors and state legislatures influence education, taxation, housing, economic development, election administration and the congressional maps that help determine who represents us in Washington. These decisions will shape the political environment leading into the 2028 presidential election and long afterward. And here’s what I find particularly troubling as someone whose political thinking was shaped by the conservative movement. The Republican Party once demonstrated that conservative principles could build a durable political coalition across the country. But somewhere along the way, too much of that movement became attached to the personality and political identity of one man. I’ve argued for years that conservatism and the Republican Party are not necessarily the same thing. The events of this week have made that distinction more important than ever. As I stated on election night, I believe we’re witnessing a biblical moment in American politics. Not simply because one party defeated another, but because an entire political order is being challenged and potentially restructured. And the consequences of that transformation could reverberate through American politics for an entire generation. The wilderness season has begun for Republicans. What emerges from it will depend on whether Republicans rediscover the conservative principles that once gave their movement purpose, or continue defining themselves through allegiance to a single political figure. History is unfolding right before our eyes. axios.com/2026/11/05/2026-mi…

The real story from yesterday’s election isn’t the House. It’s the United States Senate. And I don’t think Americans fully appreciate what just happened. Consider this. There were 35 Senate elections yesterday, including 33 seats carrying full six-year terms that won’t expire until January 2033. That’s four years beyond the next presidential election. And Democrats didn’t simply win a few competitive races. They flipped seven Republican-held Senate seats, including victories in Texas, Kansas, Iowa and South Carolina. These are deeply conservative states that many political analysts considered virtually impossible for Democrats to win just a year ago. Kansas hadn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1932. Texas hadn’t done so since 1988. South Carolina hadn’t elected one since 1998. Democrats also captured Republican-held seats in North Carolina, Maine and Ohio while successfully defending seats in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Think about the magnitude of that political shift when Republicans previously had only razor thin margins in both chambers. Democrats have already secured a Senate majority of at least 54 seats, including two independents who caucus with them. And we’re not finished counting. Mississippi and Alaska remain unresolved, with Democratic candidates narrowly leading incumbent Republicans in both states. When the dust settles Democrats might have 56 seats in the upper chamber bringing them incredibly close to having a filibuster proof majority. Also 60 votes in the Senate gives Democrats the real potential to convict Donald Trump in an impeachment trial. Even more consequential, six of the seven Republican seats Democrats flipped carry full terms extending through 2032. Ohio was a special election with a shorter term. These aren’t political losses Republicans can simply reverse in another two years. The consequences will extend well beyond Trump’s presidency. Now imagine you’re a Republican such as Senator @TedBuddNC facing reelection in 2028. You just witnessed your party lose Senate elections in states where @Republicans have dominated for decades. You watched candidates who embraced Donald Trump suffer defeats that would have been almost unimaginable a year ago. And you have to be asking yourself whether your political allegiance to one man is worth sacrificing your own career. Here’s my theory. We’re about to witness a remarkable number of Republican lawmakers in Washington suddenly rediscover their voices. For years, too many Republican members of Congress have been reluctant to challenge Trump publicly. They understood the political consequences of crossing him. But yesterday fundamentally changed that calculation. Trump has two years remaining in the White House. These senators have political careers they hope will extend decades beyond his presidency. And now they have evidence that loyalty to Trump doesn’t guarantee political survival. If I’m a senior Republican senator facing voters in 2028, I’m deeply concerned by what I just witnessed. Not simply because @TheDemocrats won, but because they won in states that Republicans once considered safely beyond Democratic reach. I know the private conversations taking place among Republican senators this morning are considerably different from what we’ve heard publicly over the last several years. The question is whether those conversations will finally translate into some political independence. The balance of power has changed. But I believe the real story over the next two years will be what happens inside the Republican Party as lawmakers begin reconsidering their relationship with Trump. Keep your eyes on the Senate. This election changed American politics well beyond 2028. reuters.com/live/us-midterm-…

Well, now we get to find out. Just days before Election Day, High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson joined me on Locked In to discuss what he would actually do if voters sent him to Washington. We talked about federal spending, tariffs, housing, healthcare, executive power and the difficult decisions facing the next Congress. At the time, these were questions for a candidate asking voters to trust him with the job. Now they’re questions for a congressman-elect. Jefferson defeated Republican incumbent @Addison_McD to become the next representative of North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District. I’ve had Cyril on the show twice, and one thing I’ve consistently emphasized is that elections should be about more than personalities and party affiliations. Voters deserve to understand what candidates intend to do with the power they’re asking to receive. Well, Cyril has received his mandate. Now comes the responsibility of delivering. Here’s a look back at what he told me before the election. Watch our full conversation on YouTube: youtu.be/TQxYu-41Nxc

My, my, my. We went looking for regime change in Iran, and the Iranians effectively helped unleash a political weapon of mass destruction right here at home. And they did it without firing a single missile at the American mainland. Pause for a moment and think about that. The United States possesses the most sophisticated military technology ever developed. Yet Iran exposed how vulnerable even the world’s greatest superpower can become when the battlefield extends beyond military targets into global financial markets. Reuters reported that Iranian officials deliberately prolonged negotiations to deny Trump a political victory before the midterms. Combined with drones, naval mines and threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the standoff kept pressure on oil prices and inflicted financial pain on American households. Every trip to the gas station became another reminder of a war Americans were paying for. And yesterday, voters delivered the political consequences in Washington, state legislatures and governors’ mansions across the country. Sound familiar? In 1979, the Iranian Revolution helped trigger an oil shock that undermined Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Nearly half a century later, we’re witnessing another extraordinary intersection of Iranian geopolitics, American energy prices and political upheaval. Every American should be watching closely. The implications extend far beyond Donald Trump or the Republican Party. We live in a globally interconnected world where military superiority doesn’t guarantee strategic victory. Iran doesn’t need a nuclear warhead to inflict enormous economic damage on the United States. A few drones, naval mines, leverage over critical shipping routes and the willingness to prolong a confrontation can impose costs that even the most advanced weapons systems cannot easily prevent. We wanted to reshape Iran’s political future. Instead, the economic consequences of that confrontation helped reshape our own. The irony is extraordinary. And the lesson should be deeply unsettling to anyone who believes military superiority makes America invulnerable. Fascinating to watch. nbcnews.com/world/iran/iran-…

My heart goes out to all my friends who held local and state elected offices representing Forsyth County. I’ve been out front nearly two years on what was coming this midterm election season, so I knew @NCGOP were headed for a difficult night, particularly at the state level. But I never fully accepted that the losses would reach this deep into our own community, right down to the school board. Watching @RealJeffZENGER, @DonnyLambeth and so many other people I’ve known and respected lose their seats has been difficult. These are good people who devoted years of their lives to public service. We haven’t always agreed, but I’ve seen their commitment to Forsyth County firsthand. I’ve been extremely critical of Donald Trump and the direction of the @Republicans. My disgust came from the party abandoning conservatives. But I also recognize that many capable local elected officials are now paying the political price for decisions and controversies far beyond their own offices. To me, this is a painful illustration of what happens when a political party becomes so attached to a national identity that the individual records of its local leaders are overshadowed by the party’s reputation. I believe the Republican Party has brought much of this upon itself. But that doesn’t mean I take pleasure in seeing people I know and respect lose their opportunity to serve. I hope my friends know that their contributions to Forsyth County are appreciated, regardless of what happened at the ballot box yesterday. You weren't just running against your Democratic opponents. You were also running against the leader of your own party. carolinajournal.com/dems-ous…