Some closing thoughts on this first week of filing in North Carolina:
-A Brad Jones of Lake Toxaway has filed for the Republican Senate nomination, giving Richard Burr a second primary challenge. Can't find anything about him on the internet. Kind of random.
-In another sign that Democrats are not giving up on offense even in this tough political climate Barabara Garrity-Blake filed to run against Jean Preston for the state Senate. Garrity-Blake ran for the House in 2008, losing to Pat McElraft 57-43. This Senate district is a good deal less Republican than the House district and was held by Democrats until the 2006 election. It's a good sign for Democrats that they're still getting quality candidates in some tougher districts like this one and David Rouzer's.
-The other thing we've seen a lot of this week that I haven't commented on yet is primary challenges to incumbent legislators. Clark Jenkins, Don East, and Andrew Brock have all drawn them on the Senate side while Pat McElraft, Dewey Hill, Rosa Gill, Ronnie Sutton, Winkie Wilkins, Alma Adams, Earline Parmon, Harold Brubaker, Jeff Barnhart, Beverly Earle, Bruce Goforth, and Phil Haire have them on the House side. I know what's driving some of these primary contests- others I do not- if anyone wants to impart some local knowledge in the comments that would be much appreciated.
We'll have more analysis over the course of next week.
It's a common mistake to think that Patsy Keever of Asheville is the incumbent in House District 115, that is not the case. She is challenging Rep. Goforth for his his seat, and appears to have come out with an early lead in the City of Asheville.
ReplyDeletePatsy Keever's motto is "putting people first" and that seems to be the real difference between her and her opponent, who continually put's big developers before the health and safety of his constituents.
Scrutiny Hooligans' Gordon Smith breaks down the race further: http://bit.ly/coGjoW
For more info on Keever her website is http://www.patsykeever.com.
Thanks for catching that. Friday afternoon brain fart
ReplyDeleteTom will PPP be polling on the house races?
ReplyDeleteWe poll legislative races for paying clients, but unlikely we will do any public surveys
ReplyDeleteIn Mecklenburg, the Dem primary challenges come from Nick Mackey fighting back against the establishment trying to get rid of him. He had someone declare against him, so for revenge his buddies are challenging the establishment incumbents.
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