Searching for courage across party lines

Good morning! Today is Monday, July 20, 2026. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.

—

Hi everyone, it’s Ashley — hope you had a nice weekend and stayed cool amid the heat wave. Today’s lead story comes from longtime Charlotte political reporter Jim Morrill, who profiled Rye Barcott, a Charlotte resident and former Marine captain who served in Iraq, and the book he recently published, which draws a distinct line between military service and politics. “Courage,” he writes, “is a choice” — something he says applies to both serving one’s country in the military and being elected into office.

by Jim Morrill

Rye Barcott knows about service.

He was an undergrad at UNC Chapel Hill in 2000 when he won a grant to study ethnic violence in the Nairobi slum of Kibera. In 2001, he co-founded a nonprofit called Carolina for Kibera. Twenty-five years later, what’s now CFK Africa provides health care, education and other programs to 200,000 Kenyans a year.

Barcott continued to run the organization while serving in 2006 as a Marine captain in Iraq. For that, ABC News named him one of its “Persons of the Year.”

In 2017, the Charlotte resident co-founded With Honor, a “cross-partisan” group designed to put more veterans of military and public service into elected office. The late David Gergen, adviser to four presidents and Barcott’s mentor at Harvard’s Kennedy School, was a cofounder. Its advisory panel included J.D. Vance.

Now Barcott, 47, has written “Courage Can Save US, Ten Extraordinary Americans and the Fight for Our Future.” Timed for America’s 250th birthday, the book profiles five Democrats and five Republicans, including Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Texas and Don Bacon of Nebraska.

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin praised the “inspiring stories” of “courage, character and common purpose.” The book reached No. 5 on the New York Times bestseller list and landed its author on CBS’s “Face the Nation” as well as interviews with NPR and news outlets around the country.

“I chose the 10 deliberately,” Barcott, who is registered unaffiliated, told The Ledger. “I don't agree with all their decisions, but I fundamentally respect that they are in it for the service.”

“Courage,” he wrote, “is a choice: a decision to advance the common good despite the risks.”

One of the 10 is Democrat Wes Moore, a Rhodes scholar and an Army captain in Afghanistan who was elected governor of Maryland in 2022. “Service will save us” was a campaign mantra. 

For Barcott, service and courage are virtually interchangeable.

“If you define courage as I do, as a form of service, it can be many different types,” he said. “It can be (to) your family. It can be the Marines or the soldiers to your right or left. It can be your community. It can be your faith. ... It can be your country. But it is not yourself.”

Sherrill, the only woman profiled, attended the U.S. Naval Academy at a time when only 10% of midshipmen were women. This was around the time of the Navy’s “Tailhook” scandal, in which dozens of women were groped and assaulted during an aviator’s convention in Las Vegas.

Sherrill spent her junior summer on an aircraft carrier, the only woman on a ship of almost 5,000. Her mother recalled a letter from her daughter with the sketch of a face with a single tear. Sherrill went on to become a helicopter pilot.

Sherrill had the advantage of two supportive parents. Not everybody did.

Bacon’s parents fought and finally divorced. A new stepmother was bipolar and volatile. Several siblings suffered from mental illness. Bacon eventually found his way to the Air Force, where he became a brigadier general.

Kelly and his twin brother, Scott, had a father who struggled with alcohol. One night, they found him in the living room with a pistol in his mouth. They persuaded him to put it down. Kelly went on to fly combat missions in Iraq as a Navy pilot – and later commanded a space shuttle as an astronaut.  

“Many of the 10 faced extraordinary trauma early on,” Barcott said. “And the thing that they all had in common was that they … all demonstrated tremendous resilience over the scope of their lives.”

The book recounts examples of courage in the military and, in the case of Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, in the FBI. Each of the 10 had taken the With Honor pledge “to serve with integrity, civility and courage” and in politics, work across party lines.

New to Congress in 2019, Sherrill voted against the re-election of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In 2024, she was one of the first Democrats to urge President Biden to withdraw after his disastrous debate performance.

Sen. Todd Young of Indiana was rebuked by fellow Republicans when he cosponsored the CHIPS Act with Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Critics said the effort to boost U.S. production of semiconductor chips smacked of corporate welfare or even communism.

But few Republicans have clashed with President Trump as much as Bacon.

The self-described Reagan conservative has bucked the president on tariffs, Ukraine and other issues. He called Trump’s effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico “dumb” and his threats to take over Greenland “foolish.” To Bacon, Barcott’s book “is a story that we need to talk more about.”

“In the end, we’re Americans first before we’re Democrats or Republicans, and we need more of that in Congress,” Bacon told The Ledger. “The mindset is we have to win the next election. That means you have to stick with the captain of your team and do things you disagree with.”

Barcott is CEO of With Honor, which has raised $100M since its inception in support of more than 250 candidates. Before that, he ran a solar investment company with fellow veteran Dan McCready. Earlier, he was chief of staff for Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers.   

The For Country Caucus is a group of nearly 40 Congressional lawmakers and veterans from both parties affiliated with With Honor. Its co-chair is Democratic Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate. Though not in the book, he said, “The American people are really tired of the divisive nature of Washington, D.C. …The title of the book says it all — courage can save us.”

“It’s a refreshing breath of fresh air that, ‘Hey, Washington may not be broken,’” he said. “And there’s hope after all.”

Davis called Barcott “one of those individuals getting things done, working in the background, pulling people together.”

“He’s an incredible American,” he said. “And he’s from North Carolina as well.”

Jim Morrill covered politics and government for The Charlotte Observer for 38 years before retiring in December 2020. He can be reached at [email protected].

Charlotte is less than a year away from hosting the 2027 Military World Games, but several of the venues promoted as competition sites have yet to sign formal agreements with organizers.

The Military World Games is an Olympic-esque multisport event that takes place every four years, and Charlotte was awarded the bid last year to host the 8th games from June 25 to July 4, 2027. In a presentation to the Rotary Club of Charlotte earlier this summer, Ike Belk, U.S. Performance Center co-founder, listed multiple Charlotte sites as hosting locations for various events, including:

Belk also mentioned that he would like to host the opening ceremonies at Bank of America Stadium, but did not list it as a hosting location. 

Britt Clampitt, a public information officer for Mecklenburg County, said that there is no formal agreement in place at this time for the use of American Legion Stadium. However, she noted that Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation and the organizers of the games have talked about using the stadium as a venue, in addition to using Mecklenburg County Sportsplex at Matthews.

There aren’t set plans for using Truist Field either, said Doug Maurer, the director of communications for the Charlotte Knights.

“We are still waiting on our 2027 Charlotte Knights baseball schedule, so that could hinder the availability of the facility, so no formal agreement in place yet,” Maurer said. “However, we have certainly offered them the opportunity to host here if the schedule allows.”

Buffie Stephens, director of media relations at UNC Charlotte, confirmed that the university has been identified as a host site for the games but did not say whether a specific arrangement is in place.

Cabarrus Arena & Expo Center, Myers Park’s “Booty Loop” and Bank of America Stadium did not respond to The Ledger’s inquiries by deadline. —Cooper Hall

It’s time for the latest installment of our “You Ask, We Answer” column, in which you (the reader) send us (The Ledger) a burning question that’s been on your mind lately. 

A reader named Christopher recently noticed a new rule in the Novant Thanksgiving Eve Parade participation guidelines and wondered if it signaled a major change for one of Charlotte's favorite holiday traditions. Here was his question: 

Thanks for the question, Christopher. We reached out to parade organizers to clarify the new rules.  

The short answer: No, tractors aren't disappearing from the parade. The new rule applies only to specialty-unit applicants, not every motorized vehicle in the parade. “Speciality unit” is a parade category for groups with a unique talent, skill or performance, such as dance groups or sports teams, that don’t fit into other traditional parade categories.  

Robert Krumbine, executive producer of the Novant Thanksgiving Eve Parade, told The Ledger via email that operational vehicles that are necessary for the parade — including tractors that pull floats, public safety vehicles and other approved motorized entries — can still participate after review by parade organizers.

Instead, the change is aimed at independently operated vehicles that might otherwise apply as specialty units. While Charlotte's parade hasn't experienced a major vehicle-related incident, Krumbine said organizers were prompted to make the change because of incidents at parades in other communities.

The reader also noticed changes affecting cheerleaders and dance teams. Those are intentional, too.

Rather than accepting dozens of individual cheer squads, organizers have created a combined cheer unit that multiple groups can apply to join. Krumbine said the goal is to allow more organizations to participate while keeping the parade's overall length, pacing and entertainment lineup manageable.

Competitive dance teams, meanwhile, are generally selected through a separate invitation and curation process instead of the standard specialty-unit application. 

So if you're worried the Thanksgiving Eve Parade might look completely different this year, don't be. The new language is a targeted safety measure aimed at independently operated vehicles. The other participation changes are intended to help organizers safely manage the size and flow of one of Charlotte's largest annual events.

Have a question about Charlotte that's been nagging at you? Send it our way, and it might become the next installment of You Ask, We Answer. —Lindsey Banks

Have a question about something in Charlotte? Drop us a line and we’ll see if we can answer it.

Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:

➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.