Mitch Kokai

Senior Political Analyst
Mitch Kokai is senior political analyst for the John Locke Foundation. He joined JLF in December 2005 as director of communications. That followed more than four years as chief state government reporter for News 14 Carolina, now known as Spectrum News. The job included extensive coverage of the General Assembly for the 24-hour local regional television news channel.

Before News 14 Carolina, Kokai worked as a radio news reporter for seven years. He started a radio news department at WENC-AM in Whiteville, then led Chapel Hill’s award-winning radio news team at WCHL-AM. He spent two-and-one-half years as news director and assignment editor for Raleigh’s WPTF-AM.

Mitch is a Columbus, Ohio, native, and a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate. He has lived in North Carolina since 1989.

Posts by Mitch Kokai (page 1)

  • Martin Center column contrasts police education and police training

    Dorothy Schulz writes for the Martin Center about problems linked to current ideas about police education. Law enforcement/criminal justice degrees are among the most awarded in the country. This includes about 35,000 associate, 63,000 bachelor’s, and 7,500 master’s degrees conferred annually. Their popularity is based on a misconception. Colleges…
    Mitch Kokai, October 30, 2020
    Police car blue light

  • Amassing evidence against mask mandates

    Yinon Weiss writes for the Federalist about evidence countering the supposed benefits of wearing masks to fight COVID-19. Masks have become a political tool and a talisman. When COVID-19 hit, governments panicked and created enormous fear. … … It is likely that some politicians eventually realized their mistake…
    Mitch Kokai, October 30, 2020
    Woman wears covid-19 coronavirus mask

  • Washington Examiner lauds the Senate leader

    Editors at the Washington Examiner highlight one reason to praise U.S. Senate leader Mitch McConnell. When it comes to achieving confirmation of conservative judges, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has good reason to be “tooting [his] own horn.” The Kentucky Republican admitted that’s what he was doing when…
    Mitch Kokai, October 30, 2020
    Featured image thumbnail

  • An election of constitutional norms versus changing rules

    Victor Davis Hanson of National Review Online explores one important aspect of the choice in this year’s presidential race. An inert Biden is playing the role of good ol’ Joe from Scranton, while his supporters hope not to change not only the presidency but also the very rules…
    Mitch Kokai, October 30, 2020
    Voteers in election line

  • Trump’s electoral performance and the GOP’s future

    Jim Geraghty of National Review Online predicts that the outcome of President Trump’s re-election bid will deliver long-term lessons to the Republican Party. If Donald Trump wins another term next week, he will be the undisputed face of the Republican Party for another four years. Beating Hillary Clinton,…
    Mitch Kokai, October 30, 2020
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  • This weekend on Carolina Journal Radio

    Even political junkies might know little about N.C. elections beyond the races for president, governor, and U.S. Senate. Rick Henderson analyzes recent developments in other important statewide races for the next edition of Carolina Journal Radio. Terry Stoops discusses learning loss among public school students tied…
    Mitch Kokai, October 30, 2020
    Microphones in a row

  • New Carolina Journal Online features

    Lindsay Marchello reports for Carolina Journal Online that threats of election-night violence have prompted some downtown Raleigh businesses to board up their storefronts. Donald van der Vaart’s Daily Journal explores N.C. counties’ concerns about possible costs linked to solar power plants.
    Mitch Kokai, October 30, 2020
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  • The Right AOC on Point: Fighting the political weaponization of COVID-19

    John Locke Foundation CEO Amy Cooke, “The Right AOC,” discusses pushback against mask mandates and other N.C. government restrictions linked to COVID-19. Contact Amy at [email protected] Follow her at https://www.facebook.com/TheRightAOC and https://twitter.com/TheRightAOC.
    Mitch Kokai, October 29, 2020
    Amy Cooke