I’m 24. I learned up close that politics isn’t intimidating

HERBERT L. WHITE | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Reporters and photographers stake out positions on Dec. 5, 2025, for U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper's campaign visit at Archive CLT.

Ten minutes is all it took.

I covered my first political campaign stop last week and was pleasantly surprised. United States Senate candidate and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper visited Archive CLT, a coffee shop on Beatties Ford Road. The space was intimate and filled with media and campaign supporters, so I was expecting mayhem right off the bat.

I went strictly to learn how political reporting operates, or at least what that environment feels like. I was once someone who said I would never want to cover politics due to what I suspected was an overwhelming chaos that came with it.

Cooper and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock greeted Archive owner Charyse Terry. It was personable and casual, which surprised me at first. Their conversation went in the direction of how tariffs have affected her life but family and business. Cooper and Warnock used clear examples of how tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on products that originate outside the country from coffee cups to wedding dresses are taxes paid by American consumers. 

Post correspondent Nikya Hightower covered her first political story at U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper's Charlotte campaign visit to Archive CLT.

“They’re telling me that rent's too high, the utility bills are too high, health care costs are too high, childcare is too high,” Cooper said. “And this administration promised them to fix these problems on day one. Not only have they not done it, but they’ve made it worse.” 

Cooper and Warnock talked about Trump administration policy and why it’s important for Americans to stay informed and engaged.

“There's some crazy new announcement, some chaos coming out from this industry,” Warnock said. “They’re trying to flood the zone and by flooding the zone what they’re really trying to do is weaponize despair. To convince us that they’ve already won and therefore there’s no need for us to fight.” 

I also appreciate the event’s brevity. I spent 30 minutes at Archive, and the politicians spoke for around 10. Nothing long-winded, no unnecessary fluff. The message was clear and to the point.

Going in, I fully expected my “spoken like a true politician” suspicions to play out, but it was actually refreshing to hear Cooper and Warnock use simple language about issues and what North Carolinians can do about them.

Another takeaway was the night-and-day difference between consuming politics online versus in person. Through social media or certain news outlets, politics can become muddied and overwhelming, especially to people who actively avoid it for those very reasons.

It was time well spent. No complicated language, no clickbait, no drama. Hearing directly from the source offers a clearer view. What I expected to be over the top or chaotic turned out to be the opposite.
I still don’t understand the depths of politics – or political reporting, for that matter. But this was a good introduction.

Nikya Hightower, 24, is a Post correspondent and 2023 UNC Charlotte graduate.

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