Freepmail or ping me on the thread to be added to the John Armor for Congress ping list.
Posted on 05/05/2008 11:21:08 PM PDT by MitchellC
The official discussion thread for North Carolina's big day - the first time in twenty years NC has mattered in a Presidential primary. Also, several other hotly contested primary races, determining who will face off in November to replace term limited Governor Mike Easley; and some very interesting Congressional races, among them the three-way 11th district race that includes Free Republic's own John Armor.
Races are held under run-off rules; if the top vote-getter doesn't reach 40%, the top two vote-getters will face off in June.
North Carolinians, let us know what you see/hear at the polls today.
Contested primaries:
*-incumbent
PRESIDENT
R
John McCain
Mike Huckabee
Ron Paul
Alan Keyes
D
Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
Mike Gravel
GOVERNOR
R
Bill Graham
Pat McCrory
Robert Orr
Fred Smith
E Powers
D
Richard Moore
Dennis Nielson
Bev Perdue
LT. GOVERNOR
R
Timothy Cook
Greg Dority
Robert Pittenger
Jim Snyder
D
Dan Besse
Walter Dalton
Hampton Dellinger
Pat Smathers
STATE TREASURER
R
Bill Daughtridge
D
Janet Cowell
Michael Weisel
David Young
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
R
Joe Johnson
Richard Morgan
Eric Smith
D
June Atkinson
Eddie Davis
US CONGRESS:
3rd District
R
Walter Jones*
Joe McLaughlin
D
Marshall Adame
Craig Weber
4th District
R
Augustus Cho
BJ Lawson
D
David Price*
5th District
R
Virginia Foxx*
D
Diane Hamby
Roy Carter
6th District
R
Howard Coble*
D
Johnny Carter
Jay Ovittore
Teresa Sue Bratton
District 9
R
Sue Myrick*
Jack Stratton
D
Ross Overby
Harry Taylor
District 10
R
Patrick McHenry*
Lance Sigmon
D
Daniel Johnson
Steve Ivester
District 11
R
John Armor
Carl Mumpower
Spence Campbell
D
Heath Shuler*
District 13
R
Hugh Webster
D
Brad Miller*
Derald Hafner
GOVERNOR: Democrat Gov. Mike Easley is term limited, so there is a war in both parties this year.
On the Republican side, the top two contenders appear to be state senator (and conservative) Fred Smith and long-time Charlotte Mayor (and moderate) Pat McCrory. Bill Graham, a businessman and outsider who lead a successful "cap the gas tax" grassroots campaign last year, and former state judge Bob Orr, both appear to have fallen far to the back of the race.
On the Democratic side, there's Richard Moore, State Treasurer, and Bev Perdue, Lt. Governor, who many outside the state will recognize from the infamous NC GOP 'Rev. Wright ad.' Moore has been insinuating in commercials that Perdue is a closet racist; Perdue has pulled a Huckabee, doing away with negative advertising only to put out several ads talking about how great she is for doing away with negative advertising.
NC-11: Football 'star' and local celebrity Heath Shuler (D) upset 8-term incumbent Charles Taylor (R) in this conservative district in 2006. Taylor had (rightfully) gained a reputation of corruption and couldn't overcome Shuler's star power and positioning as an independent "conservative Democrat," despite the fact he outspent Shuler by millions.
Shuler's real strength last time was the fact that he had no record. Even though everyone knew he'd vote for Pelosi as Speaker, he couldn't be pinned down as an enabler of liberals. This year is different; Shuler has voted with Pelosi 3/4 of the time, and all the world can see it.
The three Republicans seeking to unseat Shuler are Free Republic's own John Armor (Congressman Billybob), who has a thick resume of fighting for conservative causes as a constitutional lawyer; Asheville city councilman Carl Mumpower; and military veteran Spence Campbell.
NC-10: This heavily Republican district has been the site of an ugly primary contest between incumbent Patrick McHenry and challenger Lance Sigmon, a military vet.
McHenry is the congressman who called a security guard "two-bit" in the video seen on YouTube (a statement I believe was taken out of context by his critics). To make things worse, McHenry got into trouble with the DOJ when he posted video he'd shot of one of our bases in Iraq.
Lance Sigmon took advantage of the situation and accused McHenry of putting our troops in danger. As Sigmon turned up the rhetoric, McHenry countered by threatening him with legal action.
There's so much more to the story, with seemingly a new controversy coming out of this race every day.
There is a very small chance that the Democrats could take this seat in November, if McHenry survives the primary but is sufficiently bloodied up, then has to face Democrat Daniel Johnson, another military vet, who has begun to position himself as an independent moderate within his party, like Shuler did two years ago.
NC-3: Incumbent Walter Jones (R) went from being the guy who popularized "freedom fries" to taking the Ron Paul line on Iraq, and now he has a challenger in Joe McLaughlin, a vet and county commissioner. It's hard to say if this seat would stay Republican if McLaughlin wins the nomination.
NC-4: This district is safe for the Democrats. The GOP primary seems to be more a quest to determine the soul of the party in the district, with conservative Augustus Cho facing Paulite libertarian BJ Lawson.
NC ping
GO, CONGRESSMAN BILLYBOB, GO!!! ;)
Freepmail or ping me on the thread to be added to the John Armor for Congress ping list.
Best of luck to you today, sir.
Just kissed hubby good-bye and sent him out the door to serve as our precinct judge. Although the party affiliation of the governor is supposed to determine the selection of chief precinct judges in NC, our precinct can’t find a dem tho will do it, so my dearly beloved rep husband has the job. ;) I will take him lunch when I go vote this afternoon.
It’s a long hard day and I say thank you to all who are willing to do this. Maybe I will make some brownies to take over to them.
Walter Jones is one of the two Republican representatives who always votes against the Patriot Act. He also is a “cut and run” guy.
fieldmarshaldj said...Best of luck to you today, sir.
Kalee says...ditto :)
I get the honor of voting for my FRiend John today! Good luck CB!
Maybe I will make some brownies to take over to them.
Republican brownies, I hope . . . ;)
Two things:
1. We have a horse in this race...Congressman BillyBob...Go Johnny go!
2. The presidential exit polls will be wrong.
If there were an “ignore user” feature on this board, you would be at the head of the list.
I wonder how the People’s Republic of Orange County will vote.
Here’s my killer brownie recipe, I got it from a cookbook I bought when I lived in Atlanta and it is always a big hit. If you take them to an event that has kiddies make sure that you label them adults only because they sure smell and taste POTENT!! lol
Anyway can’t take those to the polls, so they will just get plain chocolate walnut brownies, but maybe I ought to make some of the killer ones for when my beloved gets home tonight.
Bourbon Brownies
Ingredients:
1 (19.8-ounce) package fudge brownie mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
6 tablespoons bourbon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened, plus 4 tablespoons
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons rum
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine the brownie mix, eggs and oil and pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-28 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle bourbon uniformly over the brownies. Cool thoroughly.
Combine the 1/2 cup softened butter with the sugar and rum until well-blended and spread evenly over the cooled brownies. Chill for 1 hour. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter with the semisweet chocolate, then drizzle decoratively over the brownies. Chill for 1 hour, then cut into 1-inch squares and serve.
I second Kalee’s best wishes.
Most Rs in the family voted for Keyes.
Ds voted for HRC.
Got one R who will vote after school today - for Keyes.
The Is? They might get around to it today if a nap or something don't get in the way :-) .
I was so happy when I got my Exit Visa from the People’s Republic of Orange County back in 1990 (I had to have one to move my mobile home out of the county).
There was never a time when I dealt with the county officials that I didn’t exit their offices shouting at the top of my lungs, ready to start the revolution NOW.
Good morning, Mitchell. Best wishes to Congressman Billybob today!
I sent my husband off with a “who to vote for” list :-). I’ll be heading to the poll for my two candidates (see tagline) when the school traffic clears out, and will be back and forth during the day.
It certainly is a beautiful day for the primary! You think I should take the snake? She’d enjoy it!
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