Former House Speaker Morgan defeated(RINO)

News and Observer ^

[John Geyer]

Former House Speaker Richard Morgan was defeated Tuesday night in a primary in Moore County that was part of a deep schism that has wracked House Republicans in recent years.

Political newcomer Joe Boylan, who owns three hair salons, defeated Morgan with 52 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. Morgan had 48 percent.

Morgan, a 53-year-old insurance agent and cattle rancher, has been a lightening rod in Republican circles since 2003, when he formed a power-sharing arrangement with Democratic House Speaker Jim Black. The move came when the House was deadlocked 60/60 between Democrats and Republicans.

The move resulted in an increasingly bitter feud among House Republicans — many of whom were locked out of power.

[lawnguy]

What state is this?

[Dog Gone]

keywords are often a clue

[fieldmarshaldj]

Good news out of NC.

[John Geyer]

add NC to the title.

[lawnguy]

keywords are often a clue

Well of course they are. I missed that :)

[Kjobs]

A hairdresser defeats a cattle rancher? WTF.

[fhlh]

[Muleteam1]

Moore County, North Carolina. The home of my great great great grandfather. Went to a reunion of his descendants once over there. Beautiful pineywoods and sandy golf courses at Pinehurst.

Muleteam1

[JohnnyZ]

Yeah, but Morgan already did his damage. At least maybe now the party can regroup a bit for 2008.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I'm forgetting at the moment, how come they didn't run his ass out on a rail in '04 ?

[John Geyer]

They almost did.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Well, better late than never.

[JohnnyZ]

At least two other Morgan allies have been defeated, a third is neck-and-neck for reelection with one precinct outstanding, and one conservative is trailing.

Still an uphill battle to get a foothold by 2010 when redistricting comes around again.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I still found it amazing that after the smashing success of the GOP with the NC House in '94 that it all but vanished after '98. The realignment really stalled big-time.

[gusopol3]

how's CongressmanBillyBob doing against Charles Taylor?

[manwiththehands]

A RINO has been defeated?!

We're DOOMED!

[John Geyer]

He got slaughtered.

[lowbridge]

Morgan, a 53-year-old insurance agent and cattle rancher, has been a lightening rod in Republican circles since 2003, when he formed a power-sharing arrangement with Democratic House Speaker Jim Black.

Just for THAT deal with the devil, he deserved to go down.

[lowbridge]

keywords are often a clue

Okay.

KEYWORDS: GOPPRIMARY; JOEBOYLAN; RICHARDMORGAN

What state is this? ;-)

[Clintonfatigued]

This is a good developement. That's always the case when a RINO loses in a safe Republican district.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Checking the topics can be your friends, too.

TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: North Carolina <---

[Alia]

NC *Ping*

Please FRmail Constitution Day OR TaxRelief OR Alia if you want to be added to or removed from this North Carolina ping list.

[TaxRelief]

"I'm walking and leaping and praising God!"

[TaxRelief]

how's CongressmanBillyBob doing against Charles Taylor?

He put up a good fight, and he exposed a lot of underhanded dealings in the district, but he lost the primary. I'm guessing the loss will not stop John from continuing his mission of holding Taylor accountable.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Another weak link gone.

He will be missed by the democrats. Without Richard Morgan licking their boots, they will have to wipe the dust and mud off on the legs of their britches.

[Kuksool]

Hopefully Sue Myrick can become NC's first woman Governor in 2008.

[kalee]

NC

[kalee]

Anyone know how Vernon Robinson did?

[JohnnyZ]

He won his primary pretty easily. Maybe the 'new' Vernon will keep a light, positive tone to this campaign and put some heat on Miller, but he's burned himself too many times to count on it.

[lowbridge]

Gimmie a hint.

Is the state bigger than a breadbox?

[fieldmarshaldj]

Ole Vern is a lot of things, but "light" ain't one of 'em. ;-D

[fieldmarshaldj]

Smartass. :-P

[Crawdad]

I saw a show on that guy the other day. I had to leave before his second hour on QVC was shown. Does anyone know how it turned out. He was quite upset after the first hour.

[AuH2ORepublican]

"Ole Vern is a lot of things, but "light" ain't one of 'em. ;-D"

---

Let's see . . .

"Jesse Helms is back, and this time, he's light."

Doesn't really work. : )


As for beating on Miller, I don't think Vernon can pull it off. While Miller is eminently beatable due to his ultraliberal record in a district that gave President Bush 49% in 2004 (with Edwards running for VP), I believe that we need a candidate from Raleigh to pull off the upset, or at least a candidate who can appeal to Raleigh voters. Vernon just ain't it.

Had Republicans controlled redistricting in NC, they could have gotten rid of the meandering NC-12 and drawn a district that took in Winston-Salem and surrounding areas in which Vernon would be favored to win, but unfortunately the RAT gerrymander that left the NC-05 lily white included Mountain Republican counties that preferred someone like Virginia Foxx over a fire-breather such as Vernon. (BTW, before you tell me that the NC-12 is protected by the Voting Rights Act, please note that had the GOP drawn a new 44%-black district from Charlotte to black-majority areas in NC-07 and NC-08, no one could claim that there was retrogression under the VRA.)