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 probes affirmative action for women in higher education

    Kursat Pekgoz writes for the Martin Center about the impact of affirmative action for women in American colleges and universities. There is one paradox central to American identity politics that not only runs afoul of Supreme Court doctrine but also basic Aristotelian logic. What, exactly, is the purpose of…
    Mitch Kokai, May 24, 2019

  • Democrats split along racial lines on charter schools

    Charles Fain Lehman of the Washington Free Beacon reports interesting details about Democrats’ attitudes toward charter schools. While Democrats are often thought of as opponents of school choice, new data show the story is not so simple: an examination of trends from 2016 through 2018 revealed that while…
    Mitch Kokai, May 24, 2019
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  • Democrats and sea sponges

    Molly Prince of the Daily Caller reports on Democrats’ responses to a provocative statement from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. More than two-thirds of Democrats believe Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s claim that “the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change”…
    Mitch Kokai, May 24, 2019

  • Fleeing the sinking collusion ship

    There’s a reason Victor Davis Hanson‘s latest column at National Review Online alludes to rats fleeing a sinking ship. There may well have occurred a near coup attempt by high-ranking officials to destroy a campaign and then to remove an elected president. Likewise, top officials may have engaged…
    Mitch Kokai, May 24, 2019

  • Two dozen Democrats, most of whom will end up deeply disappointed

    Jim Geraghty of National Review Online looks into the many candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Every presidential primary ends with one winner and a lot of losers. Some might argue that one or two once-little-known candidates who overperform low expectations get to enjoy a form of…
    Mitch Kokai, May 24, 2019

  • This weekend on Carolina Journal Radio

    The lineup is set for September’s special election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. Rick Henderson analyzes Dan Bishop’s win in the Republican primary. He also looks ahead to Bishop’s contest with Dan McCready for the next edition of Carolina Journal Radio. Jon Sanders discusses interest within…
    Mitch Kokai, May 24, 2019

  • New Carolina Journal Online features

    Kari Travis reports for Carolina Journal Online on the UNC Board of Governors’ efforts to ease tensions with Vidant Health as a lawsuit between the two parties moves forward. Andy Taylor’s Daily Journal explains why the Electoral College has little to do with race and slavery.
    Mitch Kokai, May 24, 2019

  • Shocker! #MeToo movement makes male bosses afraid to meet with female employees

    Emily Jashinsky writes for the Federalist about one negative consequence of the #MeToo movement. In October, two years will have passed since Harvey Weinstein’s downfall broke the Me Too dam, inviting a surge of revelations about powerful men—some overdue, others undue—into the media spotlight. By the time one…
    Mitch Kokai, May 23, 2019