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 prospects for athletics reform

    Shannon Watkins of the Martin Center devotes her latest column to the possibility of significant athletics reform in N.C. higher education. Many colleges are setting up their student-athletes for failure. Whether one looks to the long-term neurological health risks that young athletes are subject to, or the myriad cases…
    Mitch Kokai, December 10, 2018

  • Progressives push for ideological purity

    David Siders writes for Politico about self-styled progressives‘ move to enforce a greater degree of ideological conformity. Progressive Democrats are beginning to confront an unintended consequence of their own success: dilution of the brand. So many Democratic presidential prospects are now claiming the progressive mantle in advance of…
    Mitch Kokai, December 10, 2018
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  • A defense of ‘dark money’

    David Harsanyi of the Federalist explains the vital role of “dark money” in American political debate. Although the term “dark money” sounds ominous and unsavory, it’s just a misleading neologism adopted by activist journalists to make completely legal contributions to political causes they disagree with sound creepy and…
    Mitch Kokai, December 10, 2018

  • Problems tied to climate change taxes

    Chuck DeVore writes for Forbes about the political challenges associated with climate change taxes. The City of Lights, Paris, has been illuminated in recent days by cars set alight by thousands of protesting “Yellow Vests”—largely middle class people who earn their living by driving or who commute to…
    Mitch Kokai, December 10, 2018

  • Federal lunch regulations loosened

    Megan Trimble of U.S. News and World Report details one small victory against the nanny state. Students everywhere are likely to rejoice. The Trump administration has officially rolled back Obama-era lunch guidelines that promoted heightened nutrition standards for the national school lunch program. The Healthy, Hunger-Free…
    Mitch Kokai, December 10, 2018

  • Warren faces steep hurdle of her own construction

    Jonathan Tobin explains at National Review Online how U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s potential presidential bid already faces a formidable challenge. Senator Elizabeth Warren thought she was solving a problem that presented a clear obstacle to her presidential ambitions. But it turns out that taking a DNA test to…
    Mitch Kokai, December 10, 2018

  • New Carolina Journal Online features

    Lindsay Marchello reports for Carolina Journal Online on recommendations from the N.C. House’s school safety committee. John Hood’s Daily Journal focuses on the importance of taking time to broaden your mind.
    Mitch Kokai, December 10, 2018

  • Split N.C. Supreme Court reverses decision in tobacco acquisition fight

    The N.C. Supreme Court has voted, 4-3, to overrule a state Appeals Court ruling in a court fight involving British American Tobacco and Reynolds American’s $29.25 billion takeover of Lorillard. The high court’s ruling means opponents of the tobacco megadeal cannot pursue a claim that BAT violated a fiduciary duty…
    Mitch Kokai, December 7, 2018