Daily Update - February 12, 2026

Primary Decisions

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About Reuel Sample

This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Thursday February 12, 2026.

Early voting starts today across the state of North Carolina for the primary elections. Republicans have a wide range of decisions they have to make regarding who will be the final candidates in November.

Primary elections give an indicator of the sense of the party. Since 1912 the Republican party has turned to its members to determine who goes up against the Democrats in November, rather than party caucuses and conventions

Research has shown that those who show up for primaries are often much more partisan and politically connected. In 2024 – for instance - 35% of Americans who voted in the general elections identified as Conservative – while in the primaries that number jumped to 60%. What that means is that primary voters are often more ideologically driven than politically driven – which often leads to disastrous results in the general elections and beyond.

For example in 2024 Republican primary voters overwhelming selected Mark Robinson as the GOP candidate for Governor. He seemed to check every conservative box – except he was completely unelectable in the general election. His incredible unpopularity in 2024 not only led to his decisive defeat, but could also account for the Democrat victories in Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Superintendent of Public Instruction – who also was a conservative favorite. On the rare chance the ideologues from the right make it through, they prove over and over they cannot govern – and further hurt Republican chances at the polls.

Republicans need to stop asking who is the most ideologically pure during primaries, and ask instead who can get elected in November, give Republicans the numbers they need to get things done, and who has a reasonable chance of governing like a Republican. Donald Trump is not in the White House because he is an avowed Conservative – he certainly is not – but he can be trusted to govern properly and as a Republican.

Make sure you go vote.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample. Thanks for listening.

Reuel Sample is the Editor-in-Chief of The Wilmington Standard. A graduate of Grove City College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he has served as both a Presbyterian Pastor and a Navy Chaplain. He is the product of a classical liberal arts education combined with real world experience in politics and business and conservative Christian worldview firmly rooted in the Reformed tradition. He is the host of several podcasts including the NHC GOP Podcast, the Pastor's Voice, and co-hosts the Nikki and Reuel Podcast Experience. An avid sailor, he has sailed around the world as a youth and to the Azores as a teen as well as extensive trips up and down the east coast of the United States. He is honored to be married to his wife Pam and makes his home in Wilmington, NC.