“We used to talk about presidents and members of Congress having permanent campaigns, meaning they never really stop campaigning, and I think the same thing has now trickled down to the state level,” says Chris Cooper, head of Western Carolina University’s Political Science and Public Affairs Department.
![Buncombe County Democratic Party 2019 convention at Asheville High School](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NEWS1_1_Dems-330x220.jpg)