Posted on 01/16/2014 10:05:54 AM PST by cotton1706
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) is endorsing Baptist Minister Mark Harris (R) in North Carolina's Senate race, giving him a boost against the GOP establishment's preferred candidate.
State House Speaker Thom Tillis (R) is the preferred candidate of establishment Republicans, but Harris hopes to consolidate social conservative support in the GOP primary, and Huckabee's endorsement is his highest nod to date.
The former presidential candidate, fellow Baptist minister and social conservative leader praised Harris, who led the fight to ban gay marriage in North Carolina, as a "true conservative" in the race.
The endorsement further boosts the chances that Tillis will have a tough fight for the GOP nomination, potentially hurting Republicans' efforts to defeat Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), a top GOP target. Republicans have hoped that Tillis can avoid a tough primary and win the race without having to compete in a runoff election for the nomination.
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Hagan is viewed as highly vulnerable in the race, but a messy GOP primary could boost her chances at reelection. Huckabee seemed to take a veiled shot at Tillis, who has so far struggled to unite North Carolina Republicans behind his campaign. Greg Brannon, a Tea Party favorite who has the endorsement of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), is also in the race, as are three other candidates.
"As previous campaigns have shown in North Carolina, you can't select a candidate that divides people, you must select the candidate that unites people," Huckabee said in the statement released by Harris's campaign. "Mark is the only candidate who has the lifelong experience as a public servant that has helped guide people from all walks of life through every problem you can imagine."
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Huckabee would never endorse Brannon, and really can't endorse Tillis, since he got heavily stung by "endorsing" Lindsey Graham in neighboring South Carolina.
So Huckabee is doing the next best thing. He's attempting to split the conservative vote so Tillis comes out on top and North Carolina gets either a re-elected democrat or a moderate, Libby Dole-like republican.
cotton, there are run-offs in NC.
give us the details. Research is our friend. Misinformation is not.
A primary runoff? Then Tillis is toast
Brannon is going to win. I don’t care what Huckleberry says.
Huck did good with his Akin endorsement and then standing up to say Akin shouldn’t get out of the race when he made the biggest political goof in 30 years.
“Endorsements’ are as worthless as the paper they are reported in.........
“cotton, there are run-offs in NC.”
Thanks. I didn’t know that.
However, I still don’t trust these establishment types. They do LITERALLY EVERYTHING they possibly can to prevent a real conservative from getting a nomination, ESPECIALLY for the senate. They are hell-bent on protecting the senate from conservatives. And I still am of the mind that there’s some behind the scenes game being played here to undermine Brannon.
The Huckster may be endorsing this preacher, but he is really working
for Karl Rove and the GOPe’s by splitting the conservative vote. It’s the act
he will do when he runs for President, himself.
“...there are run-offs in NC.
give us the details. ...”
*******************************************************************
In the Republican primary, if the lead vote getter doesn’t get at least 40% of the vote, the top two Republicans head to a runoff.
We Tea Party folks want Brannon to be in the top two. If so, he’ll win the run-off and then go on and defeat Hagan in the general election. I suspect that the devious Huckster wants to prevent that from happening
“cotton, there are run-offs in NC.”
Thanks. I didn’t know that.
*********
It says that in the article.
snip
Republicans have hoped that Tillis can avoid a tough primary and win the
race without having to compete in a runoff election for the nomination.
end snip
WOW. Why have an election? Good old Free Republic has already decided the outcome.
I agree. Chinless McConnell has really upped his game for '14.
” - - - - Huckabee served as pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas from 1980 to 1986 and the Beech Street Baptist Church in Texarkana from 1986 to 1992. - - - -” (Wkiipedia)
Huck is trying to solidify a very reliable base, IMHO, of course.
WOW. Why have an election? Good old Free Republic has already decided the outcome.
” - - - - Huckabee served as pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas from 1980 to 1986 and the Beech Street Baptist Church in Texarkana from 1986 to 1992. - - - -” (Wkiipedia)
No offense but this means absolutely nothing to me. I look at what slimy politicians have voted for or have done. I’m not fooled by this type of thing. There are any number of pastors who endorse democrats too. I wouldn’t listen to them on that basis either.
How many people are running in the GOP primary:
Tillis now leads the field with 19% to 11% for Greg Brannon and Heather Grant, 8% for Mark Harris, and 7% for Bill Flynn ...(44% undecided)?
Go away Huckabee. You will never be President.Plainly no “discernment”.
Especially from Huckabee! lol
Nope, Potatoe was the biggest, ask any loonie lefty.
If the Huckster is backing him, then Mark Harris must be a fellow Nanny-Stater, pro-Amnesty, pro-Taxes candidate.
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