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 Highlights Historians and Academic Hubris

    Jacob Bruggeman writes for the Martin Center about a recent academic controversy that highlights a larger issue. In early August, archivists and other scholars erupted in protest when the American Historical Association (AHA) wrote a letter asking broad questions about how archives plan to reopen. The AHA framed its…
    Mitch Kokai, September 24, 2021
    Old books on shelf

  • Another Casualty of the Labor Shortage: Retirement Plans

    Kylee Zempel of the Federalist explores one impact of the ongoing labor shortage: some small business owners can’t retire. Aside from not being able to find someone to take over the business, Gary and Judi can’t even find people willing to work, period. Two years ago, they put…
    Mitch Kokai, September 24, 2021
    Hand with wrench

  • Biden’s Legacy Could Be Determined Now

    Tevi Troy ponders the impact of current predicaments on the president’s legacy. First-term mistakes are common for presidents. For some, those mistakes define their legacy, while others’ errors cling to the historical record as a footnote. President Joe Biden and his advisers reportedly believe their Afghanistan mess will…
    Mitch Kokai, September 24, 2021
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  • Charter School Enrollment ‘Skyrockets’

    Alex Nester of the Washington Free Beacon explores the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on charter school enrollment. Charter school enrollment rose over 7 percent since 2019, signaling an exodus from public schools amid restrictive coronavirus rules. Around 240,000 students enrolled in charter schools between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school…
    Mitch Kokai, September 24, 2021
    Black student with classmates

  • Plotting the Democratic Agenda’s Path

    Yuval Levin asks at National Review Online where congressional Democrats are heading with their policy agenda. I think the Democrats are going to end up raising the debt ceiling on their own, in a stand-alone reconciliation bill they will push in parallel to their ongoing efforts to pass…
    Mitch Kokai, September 24, 2021
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  • Biden Has Yet to See a Predicted Poll Recovery

    Jim Geraghty of National Review Online probes the curious case of President Biden’s ongoing public polling problems. Reuters, August 20: “White House officials believe Americans’ horror over graphic images of the chaos in Kabul and pleas from Afghans who fear they will be killed by the Taliban will…
    Mitch Kokai, September 24, 2021
    Joe Biden in Oval Office

  • New Carolina Journal Online Features

    Carolina Journal Online reports on the N.C. congressman who wants to expand school choice for students facing mask mandates and teaching based on Critical Race Theory. Lean Byers’ CJ Opinion offers a case for amending the state constitution again.
    Mitch Kokai, September 24, 2021
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  • Parsing the Politics of Obesity

    Tristan Justice of the Federalist notes the complicated politics surrounding obesity. Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman was caught in controversy early this month after the salad executive linked the severity of the coronavirus pandemic with high levels of obesity. “[Seventy-eight percent] of hospitalizations due to COVID are Obese and…
    Mitch Kokai, September 23, 2021
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