After 20 years of service to the US Army at Arlington National Cemetery, caisson horses Klinger and Dozer have the opportunity to enjoy a well-deserved retirement at a NC Farm in Franklin County. The horses responsible for pulling the caskets of former President Ronald Reagan and US Sen. Bob Dole, they were adopted three weeks ago by Olivia Turner, an Assistant District Attorney in Franklin County. More about Franklin:
Formed in 1779 from the no longer existant Bute County, Franklin gets its name from Benjamin Franklin. The county is home to Bunn, Centerville, Youngsville, Franklinton and the county seat of Louisburg, named in honor of King Louis XVI.
Since 2010, the county has grown by nearly 25%. While historically a rural county, Its close proximity to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill has made Franklin one of the fastest growing counties in the state. Since 2020 alone, Franklin grew by 8.7%. The county is projected to grow by 16% by 2030.
The county’s economy has historically been driven by agribusiness, with Louisburg serving as the business hub for the county. Originally called Pacific, Youngsville was one of the largest tobacco markets in the South at the turn of the 20th Century. The county was home to a number of cotton gins and warehouses, and like many counties, found the railroad’s presence to be its economic boon. While agribusiness continues to be an economic driver for the county, in recent years Franklin has attracted industry leaders in life sciences.
In large part due to a rapidly shifting population, the county has also seen shifts in voter registration. Over the last decade, Unaffiliated registrations have grown by 14% and make up the largest share of voters in the county. During the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, the county flipped from a plurality of Democratic registrations to Unaffiliated.
Once a bell weather county, since 2012 it has trended toward Republicans. Bill Clinton carried the county in both ’92 and ’96, while George W. Bush won the county in both ’00 and ’04. In ’08, Barack Obama narrowly lost the county to John McCain by 0.71% or 188 votes. However, the county supported Democratic candidates for US Senate, US House and 8/10 Council of State races.
In 2012, the county supported GOP candidates at the top of the ticket, and continued to split votes in down ballot Council of State races. Mitt Romney carried the county by 4%, while Democratic candidates Beth Wood, June Atkinson and Elaine Marshall won by margins of 14%, 13% and 12%, respectively. Beth Wood and Elaine Marshall still carried the county in 2016, however their margins decreased significantly, with Wood winning by .76% and Marshall by 5%. June Atkinson lost the county to Mark Johnson by .12%. In 2020, Republicans carried the county in every statewide race.
While top-of-the-ticket Republicans have won by margins of more than 10% since 2016, Franklin’s continued growth as an RTP bedroom community could set the stage for future competitive matchups.
